


Until All the World Was Silent

by Connor_Is_Best_Boy



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Attempted Murder, Crime Scenes, Elijah Kamski & Gavin Reed are Siblings, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, Explicit Language, Gavin Is A Tsundere, I tried my best okay, I'm Bad At Tagging, Idiots in Love, M/M, Major Character Injury, Mental Health Issues, Mild Gore, Mutual Pining, Porn With Plot, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), RK900 Is A Badass, Slow Build, Temporary Character Death, Tina Chen & Gavin Reed Are Best Friends, Trash Man Reed Gets A Redemption Arc, Undercover Missions, aka Gavin Swears A Lot, but like it's explained in the story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-09-29 20:07:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 22,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17210090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Connor_Is_Best_Boy/pseuds/Connor_Is_Best_Boy
Summary: Four weeks after the success of the Android Revolution, Gavin is assigned an android partner at the DPD. With orders directly from Captain Fowler to correct Gavin's violent behavior and bitter attitude, RK900 takes charge of the Detective's life and everything that comes with it.With every interaction, more and more confusing feelings arise between the two. But as some of the biggest cases of Gavin's career unfold, he must bring himself to either trust his android partner and take his hand, or risk losing everything.





	1. The Worst Day of Gavin's Life

**Author's Note:**

> It's finally here! I've been so in love with this game and this ship for months, but I could never bring myself to write something for it until now. I'll try my best to finish this fic when I can. 
> 
> Updates may take a bit so please be patient. All comments and Kudos are highly appreciated!

This was the worst day of his life; Gavin was sure of it. Everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong. And it went wrong with a sort of elegance and style he’d never experienced before.

It was a day like any other. And yet, on this day, it seemed as if God himself had decided to say, ‘Fuck you in particular’ to the detective. And Gavin was having  _none_  of it.

His first suspicions of the universe’s sudden wrath against him arose early in the morning, during his usual routine. However, something was different about this said routine. Gavin had changed one, small, insignificant detail about it; that was all it took.

As if tempting the string of fate itself, he’d made himself a cup of coffee at home instead of getting it from the station’s breakroom. Like a prophecy coming true before his very eyes, the ceramic mug he’d held so tightly slipped from his fingers. The searing liquid spilled over the side of the mug’s edge and burned his skin as it went down, carefully watching it as it shattered on the kitchen floor.

The cup broke into a balloon of white shards, the liquid inside rushing forward like an ocean wave over the tile, collecting around the base of his shoes. Gavin turned back to his hand in an almost delayed reaction. Steam wisped off his skin and dissipated into the air like a mist, his palm and fingers a rose red as they trembled.

It was as if the pain had just made itself known to Gavin, despite being present since the instant he’d dropped that stupid mug. The feeling shot up his arm again as he gripped the base of his wrist, bringing it over to the sink. To the shock of absolutely no one, the first thing out of Gavin’s mouth that morning was:

“Fuck!” The distorted swear came out like the sound of someone punching down on a stapler. He stomped his foot, “Fuck, fuck, fuck! Are you fucking kidding me?!” Gavin shouted in pain, turning on the faucet with a violent twist of his hand and shoving his palm under the cold water. Relief was almost immediate as the burning feeling subsided.

After a few moments, he pulled his hand back and wrapped it up in his black shirt, shutting off the faucet. Once Gavin’s initial anger had faded, he sighed, turning his gaze to stare down at the broken mug. Fuck it, he thought.

It wasn’t like he had anyone who would show up to his mess of an apartment. He tapped his foot, thinking. Then he nodded, shaking out the last of the pain lingering in his left hand.

Mug abandoned, Gavin turned on his heel and left the kitchen, grabbing his wallet and keys on the way. He held out his one good hand to grab the doorknob but hesitated for a moment. He frowned, glancing back to give the broken mug one final look goodbye, before leaving.

* * *

 

Without his morning coffee, Gavin was what anyone could call a complete mess. Despite how he would usually describe himself as anything other, he was fully aware of just how useless he was in this current state. It was only when Gavin arrived at the police station, fashionably late by ten minutes, that his legs wobbled like two separate houses of cards, ready to cave in at the slightest gust of wind.

Gavin’s exhaustion was dismantling him brick by brick, his eyelids lead-heavy as he wandered past his coworkers in a haze which pulled him from the moment entirely. Legs moved without instruction, his head low with his hands in his pockets. The world around looked black and blue and white when he was at work.

He had associated those colors to mean, ‘I’m tired’ and ‘leave me the fuck alone.’ But despite the bad attitude, he loved his job. His passion for it was always alive in everything he did and he worked his ass off to get where he was.

It was harder still, fighting against the incredibly high unemployment rate. If he was ever out of work, he was as good as dead, and he was sure that was the world’s promise to him. Working as hard as he did meant staying up until two in the morning to file a case, or even staying at the station overnight until the first golden rays of dawn.

Tired as he often was, coffee was what kept him going, even on an empty stomach. It was his favorite addiction. On the rare days the coffee machine was out of order, he’d look around with his distant grey eyes and listen in a sleep-deprived haze to the sounds that were so near, but seemed so far away.

With eyes burning as they struggled to stay open, he stumbled his way to his desk. His unsteady, exhausted gaze then caught sight of his favorite person in the world: Lieutenant Hank Anderson. Gavin glared in his direction, his gaze only hardening more when he caught sight of Anderson’s android. Connor and Hank were standing an arm’s width apart and talking pleasantly.

They were inseparable. Connor had a bright smile on his face, his brown eyes gleaming with an unspoken joy. Gavin still wasn’t used to that thing showing so much emotion. Connor used to deadpan, only smiling when he tried hard to.

Since he returned to the DPD as a deviant after the android revolution, he’d been incredibly insufferable with his, ‘emotions.’ It had already been four weeks since Markus and his toaster army were spared and the fight for their freedom was over. Government regulations on them were still complicated and the classification for android homicide was still flipping back and forth between ‘murder’ and ‘destruction of property.’

It made Gavin’s job infinitely harder when classifying legalities or when being assigned a case he assumes is ‘murder,’ but is actually later considered ‘destruction of property.’ Since the revolution, CyberLife had been eerily silent. It was unnerving, even to Gavin, and he wasn’t even a direct enemy.

The company had ceased all construction and distribution of androids, leaving thousands more jobless in the midst of their decline from power. For how long they would continue ceasing android production and remaining silent, Gavin had no idea. Gavin only knew Connor was the last android model made by CyberLife and that he was damn annoying as a deviant.

At least when his code was stable, he was somewhat obedient to humans and even, god forbid, less irritating to see. Connor’s blatant existence as an instrumental help to the revolution’s success, as well as being a deviant, made him the textbook case of a walking criminal. Unfortunately for Gavin, public opinion was very much in favor of these walking, talking, casings of wires and Captain Fowler had sworn to protect Connor for Hank’s sake. Well, fuck Fowler, that guy only keeps Hank hired because he’s good friends with him.

It wasn’t fair. Gavin had to work his ass off while Hank could show up to work whenever, swear at his colleges, and start trouble, fully aware he’d only receive a slap on the wrist. Gavin crossed his arms bitterly, making his way over to the two of them, sleepless mind convincing him it was a good idea.

Hank caught Gavin's eyes as he approached them. Unintentionally glaring in his direction, he shot the detective a disapproving frown. It wasn’t far off from his other coworkers’ collective response to him either.

Connor turned to face Gavin as he drew close enough to join the conversation. He smiled at him warmly.  
“Hello, Detective Reed.” Gavin rolled his eyes, ignoring Connor’s cheerful greeting.  
“It’s kinda funny,” Gavin began, tapping his fingers on his jacket as his eyes bore deep into Anderson’s, “You get here before me when you usually don’t bother showing till noon. Don’t you have a hangover or something,  _Anderson_?”

Hank’s frown shifted into a scowl as he ignored the question.  
“I was aware of the possibility,” Connor returned, answering for Hank with confidence, “In order to ensure I would get him up this morning on schedule, I poured out all the whiskey he had in the house and told Jimmy that if he ever served Hank another drink, I’d be there to personally arrest him.”

“Still can’t believe you did that, Connor. That shit was expensive,” Hank grumbled under his breath as Connor beamed beside him.

At times, the way Connor dealt with a human’s physical health issues would be the same way he would solve a simple math problem. He wasn’t specialized to deal with human health in a nutritionist setting. Gavin was getting progressively more and more irritated with the conversation.  
“So you just suddenly decided to become good at your job, then?” Gavin said as he laughed.

“Not my choice,” Hank said, his eyes trained on Connor, Gavin’s words completely unaffecting him.  
“I’m sorry, Lieutenant, but I can’t let you keep destroying your health if we’re going to continue to be friends,” Connor replied, frowning. Hank laughed.

“If being friends with you means giving up alcohol then I don’t know how long this friendship is going to last.”  
“Hank!” Connor seemed almost devastated.

“I was joking,” Hank clarified, chuckling lightheartedly as the tension in Connor’s artificial shoulders fell, a soft smile returning to his face.  
“I can’t believe you’re still pretending to be friends with it,” Gavin insulted as Connor’s smile vanished. Hank’s entire being seemed to flare up as he gave Gavin an incredibly nasty look, a snarl almost escaping from between clenched teeth. The words had finally snapped something.

“He  _is_  my friend,” Hank said, “So mind your damn business, Reed.”  
“Dear god, why don’t you ever listen to me?” Gavin complained dramatically, drawing the attention of their surrounding co-workers, “We’ve had this conversation so many times since you’ve started talking to it. It’s  _not_  human! It never was! It’s just a plastic doll that looks like one.”

Connor stared between the two of them with a look of worry, his LED spinning yellow.  
“Sorry, Reed,” Hank snapped back, “But I don’t feel like taking advice from someone who looks like they fell face-first into a coal chute, got it?” Gavin stopped short, his mind wandering out ten feet ahead of him.

He opened his mouth to reply but instead, a soft, embarrassingly small gasp cut off his words. He turned his head away briefly and ran a hand under his eyes, the skin there soft and almost a purple-grey. Dark bruises flowered his skin like violet and navy blue polka dots.

Connor was probably analyzing him at that moment with his stupid, fake eyes. Gavin’s expression shifted from a split-second look of vulnerability to harsh eyes and gnashing teeth.  
“What do you know, you drunk?” he shouted harshly, his hands clasped into fists at his sides, “You don’t know shit about me!”  
“You’re right,” Hank said, voice gentle, “But I know a bitch when I see one.” Connor held a hand over his mouth to keep himself from laughing as Gavin went red with rage.

“Fuck you, asshole!” Hank smirked in victory. This wasn’t fair.  
“Spoiled brat.”  
“Dick!” Gavin yelled childishly, taking a threatening step forward with his fist raised.

Connor quickly sprang into action, jumping in front of Hank with his hands up, palms forward as a warning to Gavin. His LED spun red as he analyzed Gavin with his slow blinking eyes. Gavin’s fist slowly lowered, his expression conflicted.

He couldn’t hit that…  _thing_  anymore. Everything had changed after the revolution. Neither could he hit Anderson. His job already hung on a thinning string above his head.

An incident like this would surely snap it. Just as Gavin let out a reluctant, frustrated sigh, his fist lowering, did Fowler poke his head out from behind the glass door of his workspace.  
“Gavin! In my office! Now!” Fowler called before retreating back inside, the three of them left to their own devices.

Gavin groaned. What did he want now? Did he piss off somebody he wasn’t supposed to again? He ran a heavy hand through his dark hair as he made his way to Fowler’s glass hell of an office with weak steps.

He turned back to give Hank Anderson and Connor one final glare goodbye before entering the room with an artificially confident stride. He needed to be confident in case he was yelled at, otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to pick himself back up for a while. His fake confidence, however, shattered into a million pieces as soon as his foot hit the soft blue carpeting.

Now he found himself staring face-to-face with the very reason he was called into Fowler’s office, to begin with. Standing in the corner of the room, as tall and as stable as a brick wall, clothed in black and blue and white, was an android. Gavin’s eyes were wide with surprise as he studied it.

It was… just like Connor, with almost an exact likeness in facial features and hair, but it was different still. With broader shoulders, a harder gaze, and the coldest blue-grey eyes he had ever seen. He towered over Gavin, much like Connor did. And just like with Connor, Gavin hated it.

The android turned its head to stare at him, its lips locked firmly in an emotionless, unwavering gaze. A shiver rolled down his spine as he forced himself to look away. An android had never truly unsettled him like this. What was wrong with it?

“Now… look, Gavin,” Captain Fowler said slowly, recapturing Gavin’s attention, “I know what you’re going to say and―”  
“You better not have gotten me an android partner like Lieutenant Anderson,” Gavin said, betrayal in his eyes.

“Look, Gavin… you’ve been acting rather erratic lately and I’m worried that it’s going to have a negative effect on your investigations,” Fowler continued, concern heavy in his tone, “I’m hoping it’ll be useful to you.”  
“No way, I’m not―”

He cut Gavin off before he could fully voice his objections and motioned to the android.  
“This is the RK900 model. It’s faster, stronger, and more resilient; more advanced than its predecessor Connor. It’s the latest, and probably, the last model CyberLife has engineered,” Fowler said, “I know you hate androids, but all I’m asking is that you to give this one a chance.”

Gavin scoffed.  
“If you think for a second that I’m ever going to willingly work with an android, you’re out of your damn mind." He scowled and pointed an accusing finger at the android. “Look at this thing. Would you work with it?”

“Gavin, don’t take this the wrong way, but this is far beyond you. I’m sorry, but you have no say in this.” The captain sighed, avoiding Gavin’s condemning eyes. “I was impressed with Connor’s ability to work with someone as difficult as Lieutenant Anderson and he’s done so with incredible efficiency. I'm hoping this android could do the same with you.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Gavin ground his teeth down so hard he was afraid he might crack them.  
“Not even a little,” Flower replied, “I contacted CyberLife about getting a new investigative android, but since the whole android revolution, they could only offer me the one. I’ve tasked it to watch over you and assist with investigations.”

“Why me?” Gavin wondered, “Why couldn’t you just pick someone else? Literally  _anyone_  else?”

Fowler’s lips tightened into a firm line, his eyes empty of both pity and sympathy.  
“It seemed better than having you turn in your badge.”  
“Turn in my…” Gavin’s sentence fell as it became infinitely clear what Fowler was implying.

“I’m sorry, Gavin. You’ve just… become more of a problem than a resource to the DPD. And it’s not like this is a new thing either.”

He shook his head, frowning. “You’ve had too many behavioral warnings. Another incident and I’d have to ask you to resign.”

“This is ridiculous. How can you―”  
“It’s either this, or you test your luck for another week or two. Another incident will happen and―”  
“But you don’t know that!” Gavin pleaded.

“Don’t interrupt me again,” Fowler warned, glowering with impatience. Gavin shut his mouth hesitantly, finding all his words of defiance had suddenly vanished. “At this point, you shouldn’t even be arguing with me. Another incident will happen eventually. You know this better than anyone.”

Gavin held his tongue, knowing Fowler was right. He crossed his arms, the cold eyes of that android setting fire to his back. He hated the awful feeling that rose up in his stomach.

A feeling like bile in his throat; like a thousand knives in his belly. That familiar twist of anxiety in his guts that made his legs shake and his hands tremble. He desperately wanted to break something.

He wanted to punch someone in the jaw hard enough to forget the feeling in his abdomen. To kick someone in the chest until he forgot the feeling that sat, poisoning the spot below his lungs.

“This is bullshit and you know it! I’ll work with anybody else here! Anybody but that  _thing_. Hell, I’d even work with Lieutenant Anderson over this walking toaster oven any day of the week,” Gavin said, fully aware he was overstepping something.

But at this point, he couldn’t find it in himself to care anymore.  
“Gavin, don’t you see I have no other options left?!” Fowler shouted, slamming his fist down on his desk and startling Gavin, “You refuse to work with anyone else! I’ve tried everything to get you to cooperate with others but you just ignore them and try to go off on your own!”

Gavin was taken aback. Did he really do that? He turned away, embarrassed.

“Prove to me that you’ve changed. Prove to me that you can be mature and control yourself when you’re angry. Just show me, that’s all I’m asking.”

Fowler leaned forward into his desk, his back straight as he locked eyes with the detective. “This is your last chance, Gavin.” The finality of Captain Fowler’s words shook Gavin to his very core.

He thought about his options, really considering what he could do at that moment. He squeezed the edge of the badge on his hip, fingers shaking. He desperately wanted to say ‘Fuck it,’ and give it up, but he knew he couldn’t.

Being a detective was his favorite thing in the world and he’d never willingly walk away from it, especially not over a fucking android. He turned and glanced up at the RK900 model with an incredible hatred in his eyes, his decision already made. He let go of the badge, allowing his fingers to relax as his hand fell limply at his side.

“Fine,” Gavin said, sighing, “Fine, I’ll do it.” He felt emptier.

“Good,” Fowler chirped, relaxing in his seat as an uncommon smile appeared on his face, “You’re dismissed.” Gavin rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, dismissed… whatever.” He turned to leave.  
“Oh, and one more thing…”  
He paused, one hand on the door handle as he listened. “That RK900 model you’re going to be working with is unnamed. I don’t care what you call it, just as long as you name it something.”

Gavin rolled his eyes again.  
“Sure. I’ll do that first thing out of your office. In fact, I’ve already got a name picked out that I’m sure it’s going to  _love_ ,” he replied, voice heavy with sarcasm as he glanced back at the android with a snide glare.

With one final look at Fowler’s disapproving expression, Gavin left the office, slamming the door behind him. As he made his way down the steps of the platform with the stride of a drunk toddler, two things became clear. One, Anderson and his plastic pet were still talking lightheartedly as if nothing happened, and Gavin hated it.

Being unable to stand them already added to his current frustration. However, once he saw they’d already moved past their earlier confrontation with him, it made him shake with anger. But even that could be considered insignificant compared to the daunting fact that he’d made no impact on anything at all. And that deeply ate at him. It was as if he didn’t even matter in the grand scheme of things, but perhaps this was true.

The second thing that caught his attention was Tina Chen hanging around in the breakroom, her back up against the grey countertop as she gazed down lazily at her phone. Upon seeing her, the ghost of a smile passed across his lips. But it was only there for a moment as his usual frown took its place.

He made his way over to her, determined to get the coffee he was two finger snaps away from killing someone for. He also wanted to vent to her about all the shit he was going through, despite stubbornly not calling it what it actually was; venting. She glanced up from her phone, her dark eyes immediately filling with joy at the mere sight of him.

Even after all this time, Gavin still didn’t expect Tina’s friendliness since it was so common for people to react poorly to Gavin’s immediate presence. Gavin stepped up beside her with a rare, gentle expression, resting his elbows on the counter and leaning back to get a good look at her. She was in uniform, her raven hair messily pushed up under her police cap.

She looked almost as tired as he felt, yet she was as cheerful as always, unfitting of the grey backdrop they were always submerged in.  
“What’s up, asshole?” she greeted, glancing up from her phone and grinning at him. Gavin waved her off, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Saw you were called into Fowler’s office earlier. In fact, I’m pretty sure the entire precinct did too. What’d you get in trouble for this time?”

“Nothing,” Gavin said, pouting and crossing his arms bitterly like a child throwing a tantrum, “I didn’t even do anything! And then he suddenly decides to assign me to a partner!”

Tina raised an eyebrow, curious.  
“Ah, a partner? Who would even be able to work with you anyway? You’re the most difficult person here.”

She giggled softly to herself, tapping away at her phone. “And I mean that in the nicest way, Gavs.” At the immediate sound of Fowler’s office door opening and closing, both Gavin and Tina lifted their heads to see the android of black and white and blue making its way down the platform steps.

“That,” Gavin said, rolling his eyes as he gestured to it lazily, “That’s my new partner.” Tina almost choked on her spit as a broken laugh died in her throat. She was the only person who could ever truly say she enjoyed Gavin’s presence, but sometimes she wanted to see life do him in one and watch karma kick his ass. And now, it seemed as if karma had just come knocking, and it was ready to give Gavin a black eye.

“No way!” Tina said, gasping with laughter, “You got paired with an android? That’s so rich!” Gavin wanted to crawl into one of the breakroom cupboards and die.

Die of what, Gavin wasn’t sure. Maybe it was from the shame he felt as Tina laughed at him or maybe it was the fear of being spotted by that walking Ken Doll. After scanning around the precinct rather quickly, the android suddenly caught sight of him, its LED blinking a stable blue as it made its way into the breakroom to confront him.

When RK900 was finally an exact two feet from him, it lifted its head higher with confidence and stood with perfect posture. Tina looked up at the android with nervousness, Gavin also mirroring the same display with his posture. However, his face was stern and unmoving, trying as hard as he could to not crack under RK900’s intense, blue gaze. Then it spoke.

“I believe you stated earlier that you were going to register my name first thing out of Captain Fowler’s office,” the android said flatly, speaking with perfect pronunciation, “Am I correct?” Gavin was at a loss for words.

The voice that had just spoken to him might sound soothing to someone unsuspecting, but the eyes and the body of that thing were all made to intimidate. That creeping, gentle voice was an exact copy of Connor’s, much like everything else about him, but it was only slightly different. Slightly lower in pitch and devoid of all the life and empathy Connor’s was.

Gavin scowled up at the android and practically punctured his nails through his favorite jacket as he tightened his grip. Why was he so nervous? These machines had never once bothered him before, so why now?

“Screw off, tin can.” Gavin flipped him off as he stuck his tongue out at him. “No way in hell am I giving you a name.”

“Gavin… maybe you shouldn’t bother it,” Tina said slowly, her worried eyes never once leaving RK900 as she lifted her hand to deter him.  
“What? Don’t tell me you’re afraid of it. I’m not scared of these stupid plastic toys.”

Gavin’s scowl only encroached harsher with each passing word. Despite Gavin, RK900 simply tilted his head and stared, wordless in response. Gavin continued speaking anyway. “Got nothing to say, huh?”

Gavin took a generous step forward and stared up with a hatred so intense it might physically manifest somewhere in the room. An idea suddenly occurred to him, an amused smile possessing his lips despite his hardest efforts to continue scowling. “Let’s see if you’re just as stupid as the other Connor…”

He took one more threatening step forward, bringing himself nearly flush up with RK900’s chest. “Bring me a coffee, dipshit.” His order snapped harshly in the quiet air of the breakroom as he stood, staring up at RK900 with impatience and expectancy all the same.

However, the android never moved. He never even seemed to process the thought for action at all, as he only leaned forward into Gavin’s space further. Gavin gulped down a lump of unexpected fear as he tilted back on his heels on instinct.

The android remained still as it stared down at the detective, its features empty of both emotion and imperfection.  
“I’m sorry, Detective Reed. You must have misunderstood me,” he said slowly, lips pressed hard into a fine line, “I require a name and I also require your cooperation. Unfortunately, I am not programmed to be your babysitter. So I suggest you fix your attitude.”

Gavin’s heart seemed to suddenly zap to life as it sped, trapped behind his ribcage, beating in a way he didn’t understand. His head burned hot as if it was on fire, his face turning pink with wrath. What right did this machine have to say that shit to him?

The damn thing wasn’t even alive.  
“Gavs?” Tina voiced hesitantly as she watched him shake and dig his nails into his palm, his hands closing tightly into fists. At that moment, Gavin lost whatever self-control he had, and without a single word, lifted his fist and swung as hard as he could.

Before it could pass anywhere between him and RK900, it made impact, but not with what Gavin intended. It hit, slamming against the heavy palm of the android as it caught the detective’s hand mid-air in an iron hold and simply kept it there, looming and threatening. RK900 made an experimental but scientifically precise twist with his artificial wrist, wrestling the detective’s entire arm into an uncomfortable downward arch.

The awkward angle earned the android a pained groan from Gavin as he struggled to pull free.  
“You… asshole,” Gavin muttered weakly through gritted teeth as he slammed his free hand into the android’s chest over and over again. It didn’t evoke a single reaction from RK900 as he took every hit and only stared down with hollow eyes, his posture straight, tall, and indestructible.

“Detective Reed, I suggest you refrain from attempting to damage me again in the future,” RK900 said, “That is unless you desire a compound fracture in your lower wrist, and a bill you could never attempt to pay off, signed under your name for any damages you foolishly inflict.”

“Just you try and break my wrist; see where that gets you! I think I remember you freaks not being allowed to hurt humans. What are you gonna do now, tin can?” Gavin replied smugly through the pain, knowing he was right, “You’re programmed to protect us.”

“I may be programmed to protect humans like any other android. However…” RK900 leaned lower so his eyes were perfectly leveled with his partner’s, the android’s glare igniting a deep, rotten feeling in Gavin’s gut, “Captain Fowler has given me vague instructions as to how to deal with your poor behavior. I hope you realize that I will do anything to accomplish my mission, even if that means harming a human.”

Gavin gulped. Despite everything about the situation screaming at him to stop and think, he continued persisting by digging his heels into the ground and leaning back with all his weight to dislodge his fist from the squeezing fingers that held it.  
“God, I’ve had enough of this! Let me go, you fuckin’ terminator knock-off!”

“Let you go?” RK900 raised an eyebrow in a surprisingly human gesture. “Are you sure?”  
“Yes!” Gavin leaned back further, pulling harder. “I’m completely sure, asshole!”

RK900 shrugged, his expression neutral.  
“If you say so.” With that, RK900 abruptly opened his hand and released Gavin’s fist.

Free at least, Gavin had a momentary hurrah of joy before tumbling backward and falling to the floor at Tina’s feet. God, he was such a moron.  
“Graceful… I’d say you’ve almost earned yourself an E for effort,” she teased, smiling and tilting her head at him as if he were some starfish at an Exhibit for Sea World, “What were you thinking, Gavs? Seriously.”

Embarrassed, Gavin sat up on the dark tile and nursed his sore wrist. Why did he never think before he said shit? Anger continued coursing through his veins, his heart beating faster at the idea of getting that android to pay for what he did.

Gavin had only just begun to plan his revenge when RK900 leaned down on his knees and extended a gentle hand out to him.  
“Are you okay, Detective Reed?” When Gavin found the android’s eyes, they were somehow softer than they had been, warm almost.

He seemed lost. Gavin narrowed his eyes, smacking the offered hand away without a second thought. It was almost insulting.

He’d rather someone spit in his face than be babied.  
“I don’t need your help,” Gavin snarled, “Not now, not ever.”

Without another word, Gavin dusted himself off, rose to his feet, and left the breakroom behind.

* * *

 

When night had fallen on the station, Gavin had finally had enough of everything. Enough of Hank and Connor talking way too loudly to each other, of the endless paperwork, and of his android staring at him from across the room, sitting awkwardly on one of the wooden benches the station provided. Gavin couldn’t stand it.

It was as if every time he looked over at RK900, he was always looking back at him. It made him uneasy. Gavin couldn’t even bring himself to return to the breakroom after his embarrassing fuck up that morning.

So he simply went without coffee, which just so happened to be the detective’s written definition of pure torture. Keeping his eyes open felt like the hardest workout he’d ever done. When he’d closed his eyes in a deep sleep a few hours ago, RK900 woke him up with a swift hand chop to his arm, hitting it out from under his chin, and sending him into a firm face-plant on the edge of his desk.

It hurt like hell, fixing Gavin into an exhausted rage in which he ordered RK900 to sit as far away from him as possible. Of course, RK900 wouldn’t obey as he firmly informed Gavin he was under no obligation to follow his orders as his authority was with Captain Fowler and CyberLife. Gavin then made a compromise by convincing him it would make their relationship better.

It worked like magic, RK900 quickly making his way across the room to sit somewhere else. Unfortunately, not all good things could last as the dumb bucket of bolts just sat there and stared at him with those unnervingly cold eyes. He was so fucking creepy.

Gavin would’ve told him to knock that shit off immediately, but he was so exhausted at that point he couldn’t even tell the difference between his desk and his terminal. Black covered the outside of the station’s windows like a thick liquid, the lights above his desk glowing a bright but dormant gold. It was somehow quiet, even with phones going off every other minute and with the constant hum of the surrounding chatter.

It all seemed to lull Gavin into another sleep as he propped up his elbow on the desk and leaned into the palm of his hand. His eyelids drooped closed for a second or two before the loud slam of a hand smacking his desk surface made him jump. His eyes shot open, mind alert as he stared up at the person who made the noise.

In a foggy haze of sleep deprivation, Gavin’s dumbass brain couldn’t pair a face to a name as he stared up at them, wordless.  
“Uh… Hello? Gavs? Come back to earth, asshole.”

Tina waved a hand in front of his face and smirked at him, cheerful energy radiating from her. “You okay in there?” Was she talking to him?

Gavin blinked. “Oh. Hi, Tina.” He shook his head. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just have to finish filing this missing person report and then I’m outta here.” She grinned, thinking.

“How about…” she began, placing her hand over his desk terminal’s screen and leaning against the leg of the table, “How about I file that for you?” Gavin gazed up at her in shock.  
“Really? You’d do that for me?”

As much as the idea of someone helping with anything was repulsive to him, somehow, the offer coming from Tina didn’t stir up many objections.  
“Sure will. Even total human disasters need a break sometimes,” Tina said, musing as she pulled her police cap down as if to show that helping him was part of her duties as an officer, “Now get out of here and get some sleep. With those bags under your eyes, someone’s gonna think you got the shit kicked out of you again.”

“But I did get―”  
“Don’t you think I know?” she dismissed, raising her voice and catching him off guard. He stared up at her in surprise. “I know… I’ve seen it happen before.” She crossed her arms and averted his gaze, her frown overflowing with guilt and concern.

She didn’t say anything else. She didn’t need to. Gavin already knew what was bothering her.

He was almost sad he wouldn’t be able to make her feel better. He wanted to reassure her and tell her what she wanted to hear, knowing it would be a lie. But regardless, there wasn’t a single person alive who could help him.

“What about you?” he asked, packing up to leave, “Are you sure you want to stick around here?”  
“Oh, Gavin,” she sighed, smiling contently, “I practically live at the station. I’m pretty sure if I started sleeping here, no one would notice.”

Gavin rose to his feet, stepping away from his desk and sliding his phone and keys into his pocket.  
“So, you’re good then?” he asked as Tina rolled her eyes.  
“Oh my god, Gavs. Stop pretending to care and just go!” she chuckled, shaking her head and pushing him towards the door.

She stopped and watched him for a quiet moment as he continued on before gently slumping into the seat at his desk. Gavin had only taken a few steps in the direction of the door before a harsh hand grabbed his shoulder. Fingers squeezed into his flesh painfully, freezing him in place. Immediately, he knew who it was.

Dear god, could he ever get a fuckin’ rest?  
“Let go of me, you plastic prick,” Gavin grumbled, too tired to yell. He turned to face RK900, smacking away the hand on his shoulder.

“I did all my work. I’m done, so peace out bitch.” He slurred every word, taking a crooked step backward on numb, tired legs.  
“Detective, it isn’t safe to drive while you’re this sleep deprived,” the android warned, holding up his index finger to instruct Gavin like some kind of mom. “8.3% of deaths and 17.5% of injuries during car accidents are caused by sleep-deprived drivers as of 2037.”

“Yeah, okay. Thanks for the statistics, Google.” Gavin rolled his eyes and continued to make his way towards the door. RK900 stepped in front of him.

“I’m sorry, Detective Reed, but I can’t allow you to drive. It’s my responsibility to make sure you’re safe and to deter you from risky or problematic behavior.” Gavin glared, grinding his teeth down in utter annoyance.

“God, can you just leave me alone already?!” Gavin shouted with the last of his energy, his shoulders tight, “I’m done dealing with you plastic fuckers today. Can’t you see I’m tired and overworked? I just want to go home and sleep, is that too much to ask?!”

Surrounding coworkers lifted their heads to listen in, their attention caught as Gavin stomped up to his android with unstable footing and pressed a finger into his chest. “So, I’m going to say this once and only once.” He leaned in and spoke, low and bitter. “Get out of my way and let me go to my car, or  _else_.”

RK900 squinted at him, opening his mouth as if offended.  
“You―”  
“Hey, uh, Detective Reed,” officer Miller cut in hesitantly as he stepped up to the pair with a yellow slip of paper in hand and worry in his eyes.

“What is it, Chris?” Gavin asked, unable to bring himself to look away as he continued glaring at the android.  
“Well, you see… Um…” Chris stared at the detective nervously and tapped the slip of paper a few times, trying to find the right words, “Your, uh… How do I say this? Um…”

He shut his eyes and sighed, finally getting to the point. “Your car’s been towed.” Gavin finally turned to look at him.

The officer cautiously snuck a glance at his colleague, crookedly feigning a smile as he awaited the anger he was sure would come. However, instead of the usual shouting, Chris was met with something strange. Gavin laughed.

Dry, broken, and humorless, his laugh continued on as if his world was ending and that was the punchline. His eyes were wide and unfocused, a weak, forced grin on his face.  
“Very funny, Chris!” he said through in-between breaths, stepping up to the officer and patting him on the shoulder, “Haha, you got me! Where did you hide the cameras?”

He glanced around the room to look for them as Chris raised a concerned eyebrow and exchanged strange looks with RK900. At their silence, Gavin ceased laughing, his smile vanishing completely. No, there was  _no way_  this could be happening to him.

And at the worst fucking time imaginable too. He considered briefly if he should start crying. “Are you fucking serious? They actually just towed my fuckin’ car? There’s no way!”

Chris shamefully looked down at the yellow slip, skimming through it again.  
“It says here, you―”  
“Give me that!”

Gavin ripped it from Chris’ fingers as he turned it over to read it. The name it was addressed to and the time the vehicle was towed was printed out in black ink as clear as day. Gavin Reed; 10:43 p.m. Thursday, December 9th, 2038.

Not even ten minutes ago. Even with the paper in his hands, it still didn’t feel real. He looked up and scowled, pushing past Chris before exiting the station doors with a  _slam_.

Chris and RK900 turned to watch him through the glass, not bothering to follow. Gavin dashed through the parking lot with a vigor he barely had as his mind raced, lungs heavy in his chest and breath huffing out in a wheeze. He stopped at the edge of the street.

From there, he could clearly see the stretch of sidewalk he’d parked beside. Street lamps bathed the concrete in a dim yellow glow, ever brighter beneath the black, starless sky. Just below the light, beside the bright red-painted curb, was where his car should have been.

All that resided there now, were a few moths battling for the shared radiance of the lamp, discarded food wrappers, and crushed, piss-stained cardboard boxes. To Gavin, it was a scene lifted straight out of a horror movie. His mind looped in on itself.

Oh, god. How was he going to get it back? He was practically broke.

Where would the money come from? He could barely afford his apartment as it was. Getting to the tow place from there would be a nightmare.

How would he even get home? Where would he sleep? The ghost of tears formed in his eyes as his hands gripped into tight fists.

He had to swing at something; break someone’s nose or break a windshield. It was one or the other. He stomped his feet, his shoes crashing up and down on the ground as he screamed inanities and swears at the empty space.

Gavin didn’t care how ridiculous he looked in the moment, he was  _pissed_. So pissed, he wanted everyone within a ten-mile radius to be aware of it as he continued shouting. Out of breath and still frustrated, Gavin finally shut his mouth.

He fell to his knees ungracefully and slammed his fist into the concrete beneath him a few times, for good measure. His destructive urge to break something slowly dripped away until he stilled and fell completely silent. With knuckles throbbing painfully, he continued staring, his mind a calm white as he committed the vacant stretch of sidewalk to memory.

Falling into a sitting position, he listened to the sounds of the city he had grown up with. Ambulance sirens blared on in the distance as dogs barked at the windows of empty apartments. He could even recognize the familiar, indistinct shouting of a dysfunctional couple echoing from a few buildings away.

Everything was there, as it always had been. He couldn’t imagine life without it. It was almost peaceful.

Calmer now, Gavin finally looked at the note again and read once more. Did they even have a real reason for taking his car? His eyes found the text.

According to the paper, he was a few inches too far on the red curb.  _What a load of bullshit_. He crushed the note in his hand and shoved it into his jacket pocket, content to forget all about it until it went away all on its own.

As soon as the thought of asking RK900 for help had occurred, the distant voice of Lieutenant Hank Anderson and the sound of an old car beeping unlocked became audible to him. A dumb idea popped into his head. He laughed to himself.

Yeah, right, as if he’d ever ask Anderson for help. But then there was Chris, who would probably make fun of him for coming back with his tail between his legs. If Tina found out, there would be no, ‘probably’ about it.

He was definitely going to be made fun of. And then there was RK900. He frowned bitterly, thinking hard enough to hurt his head.

Just how bad could  _one_  ride possibly be? The worst thing Gavin could imagine at that point was not simply getting the ride, but Hank rejecting his offer outright, calling him pathetic, and then laughing in his face. That would sting, even for Gavin.

But there was no way he was going to ask that piece of shit plastic bitch for help. Even though he hated Hank, he still hated him less than he could ever hate any android. He swallowed his pride and, without looking back, made his way towards Hank’s car.

He could see him vaguely a bit away in the distance talking to Connor, who was standing by the passenger’s side. Connor turned his head in his direction as soon as he scanned Gavin out of the corner of his eye. He smiled at him, despite Gavin’s previous hostility towards him that morning.

God, didn’t Connor learn anything? Gavin kept his gaze glued to the floor and took a deep breath. This was going to be difficult.

Hank raised an eyebrow, amused.  
“Well, well, if it isn’t Detective Reed. Did you come by to torment us outside of work too?”

Gavin's insides did anxious somersaults at Hank’s comment. He huffed out a grumble stubbornly, too low for Hank or Connor to hear. “Uh, could you speak up, maybe? Or, better yet, how about you stop wasting my time if that’s what you’re doing.”

Hank tapped the roof of his car with his keys impatiently.  
“I said,” Gavin repeated a little louder, frowning, “Can you give me a ride home?” Hank was shocked for a moment until a bright grin overtook him.

“No way! You need _my_ help? That’s got to be the best joke you’ve ever told!” He laughed in disbelief.

Gavin dug is nails into his jacket, his expression quickly morphing into a scowl. This must be the end times, Gavin thought. His pride; his beautiful pride, gone.

“Why would you ever need a ride from us?” Connor asked, not maliciously, but as curious as ever.  
“Car…” Gavin said weakly, “My car was towed.”

Connor nodded in understanding as Hank laughed more at his expense. If Hank didn’t shut the fuck up, Gavin was just going to walk home.  
“Yeah, sure, you can hitch a ride.”

Gavin lifted his head, surprised by Hank’s off-color kindness.  
“Really? You’re really okay with―”  
“Yup, but I’m not some kind of heathen. I have rules, Reed,” Hank interrupted.

He lifted his finger informatively. “One, no smoking in my car.” Gavin rolled his eyes.

What a lameass. “Two, no hands or feet out the windows. Three, no talking back to me and especially not to Connor during the entire drive.”

“What? That’s a stupid rule. You can’t just―”  
“And four, driver picks the music.”

Hank stared at Gavin, expecting a confirmation. Gavin slid his hands into his pockets, rolling his eyes again like a spoiled teenager.  
“Fine. Whatever.”

Connor seemed satisfied with the exchange.  
“And how about a ‘Thank you’?” Hank asked, amused as he watched Gavin grimace as if he’d eaten something rotten.  
“Don’t test your luck, old man. That’s all you’re getting out of me.”

The ride home was exactly what Gavin expected. Quiet and mildly uncomfortable. Connor tried to break the silence with mild intermittents of next week’s weather predictions and the current stock market value of Google and CyberLife.

To make things worse, Hank broke one of his own rules and let Connor pick the music. When the same Tenacious D song came on for the fourth time in a row, Gavin felt like he was about to lose it. To make things a little interesting, Gavin stuck his arm out the window and let it rest over the side of the car.

Feeling the cool wind roll over his jacket sleeve was nice, for a time. Until Hank Anderson rolled up the window and trapped Gavin’s wrist between the glass and the roof of the car. Hank got a real kick out of it as Gavin swore at him and struggled to pull his arm free for the second time in one day.

Eventually, with Connor’s gentle persuasion, Hank became convinced to reluctantly let Gavin go. He grumbled the rest of the way to Gavin’s place about how Connor was secretly part of the anti-fun police. To which Connor took it seriously and assured him he didn’t work for anyone else but the DPD.

When Hank pulled up to Gavin’s apartment complex, Gavin didn’t bother to say goodbye. He slammed the door on his way out and practically stomped up the steps to his home. Hank or Connor might’ve said something to him as he left, but he chose not to acknowledge it.

He stopped for a moment to stare at his door, its paint peeling to a dark grey beneath the white. Hank’s car drove away in the distance and he let out a sigh of relief. It was like he could finally breathe again.

He listened in silence for any cat meows or scratching on the roof. But there was nothing. That’s unusual, Gavin thought.

At the very least, Gavin Junior would always come by for a can of Meow Mix. Maybe he found somewhere else to get food for the day. He shrugged to himself as if it didn’t matter, but he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed the kitten didn’t come by to see him like he always did.

There was a deep aching feeling that bloomed in his chest as he unlocked the metal security gate and then his door. As he stepped into his dark, empty apartment, the feeling persisted; familiar and almost painful. He flipped on a light and set his keys down.

As he stepped forward into the light, the ghost of tears filled his eyes unexpectedly. He angrily wiped them away, but more only came. Without having the strength to move upstairs to sleep in his bed, he leaned his head against the wall and stared at the only meaningful impact he’d made all day.

A shattered coffee mug on the tile of his kitchen floor.


	2. Little, Less, Lonely

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to try and update this on a more weekly schedule. If things keep going this smoothly and I'm not suddenly struck by writer's block, expect to be marking down Saturdays each week in your calendars. 
> 
> Also, I really liked the title I chose for this chapter. Altogether, the words come out to "Little less lonely," which is positive, but saying each word individually (Little. Less. Lonely.) are fully negative words. Also, in case anyone is curious about what the acronym for PERSONALITY stands for as it comes up later in this chapter, it means: Perceptive, Electronic, Recreative, Sensory, Ocular, Neurological, Alias, Likability, Inference, Testing, Yielder.
> 
> All comments and Kudos are very greatly appreciated!

“No, but you don’t get it. This is the worst! It always acts like it’s my dad or some shit. How am I expected to work with some asshole hovering over everything I do?” Gavin spoke into his phone’s speaker, the hard plastic pressed against his jaw as he laid, sprawled out across his bed.

The grey bedspread tangled between his legs as he flipped over and stared at the wall. He could barely see a thing in the darkness, the walls bare and the floors messy.  
“ _Gavs, it’s been more than a week of this. I’m really starting to get sick of you complaining about your_ _android_ ,” Tina replied, groggy and irritated.

She rolled over onto her back and pressed her palm into her aching forehead. “ _You have got to stop calling me every time you’re upset. I have a late-shift tomorrow_.”  
“Look, I’m not trying to say that it’s the worst android that exists. All I’m saying is, show me somebody worse.”

“ _Gavin, please go to sleep. I’m begging you_ ,” she said, turning onto her side and squinting at the red glare of her alarm clock, “ _It’s three in the morning_.”  
“Is this really what the rest of my career is going to be? Some plastic prick watching over everything I do?”

“ _I guess so_ ,” Tina sighed, barely awake, “ _Gavs, I gotta go. See you tomorrow_.”  
“Wait, I’m not―” There was a soft _click_ , and the call ended.

Gavin frowned, huffing out a breath of disappointment. He flopped over onto his back and stared at the ceiling, the plush mattress beneath him burning all too hot. After getting his car back within a few days of losing it, it was like the world was finally set right.

It was still extremely embarrassing, setting his pride aside to carpool with Tina Chen on three separate occasions. He was sure he’d never hit that level of shame again, even despite being her friend. Gavin was never exactly sure what she was to him because he had never known what having friends was like. But even still, she was his friend.

With his car back, Gavin expected to come home one day and find his small friend, the kitten, Gavin Junior, back on the stairwell begging for food or a quick pat on the head. But as the days went by, he never did see that kitten again. It ate away at him, little by little.

Somehow, he would always manage to get his hopes up every day after work to see him. Even nine days later. Maybe the next day, that was what he thought to himself at the height of the evening, ever since the kitten stopped visiting.

Gavin’s thoughts wandered to other things. Like blue-grey eyes, pale skin, and a certain white jacket. He ground his teeth in anger.

Every single day RK900 was always there to greet him as if he were Gavin’s own personal doorman. He also attracted way too much attention to Gavin with his distracting uniform and wooden posture. It was irritating.

He stared at Gavin as if he were something to be documented and spoke in this incredibly lifeless way. If there was one thing to be appreciated, it was RK900’s no-tolerance policy. It pissed Gavin off, but at least he wasn’t a pussy like Connor and his, ‘Oh, let’s all get along’ bullshit.

RK900 didn’t seem to follow a human relations program, which was the least irritating thing about him. Gavin almost kind of liked it. He shook his head.

No, he’s not supposed to _like_ anything about an android. That’s stupid. He knew that very well.

He’d made up his mind about it a long time ago. But even now, despite how hard he tried to feel, every time he closed his eyes, all he could see were cold, blue-grey eyes and a certain white jacket. 

* * *

 

Gavin stepped through the doors of the DPD carrying a stack of paperwork and looking a little worse-for-wear as he trudged through the hall towards his desk. Another miserable day was all it felt like. Maybe he’ll get out early if he does all the―

“Good morning, Detective Reed.” Gavin stumbled back into the wall with a loud thud as a few papers fell to the floor like lame birthday confetti. RK900 only stood in the wake of his mess, appearing innocent of any crime.

“Don’t fucking scare me like that again, asshole!” Gavin hissed in pain as he rubbed the back of his head, “You’re gonna give me a damn heart attack, jumping out of nowhere like that.”  
“My apologies, Detective,” RK900 said as he stooped down to gather up the scattered papers.

He held them out to Gavin with a neutral expression. “Just so you’re aware, it is extremely unlikely for a human to die of a heart attack under these specified circumstances.” Gavin rolled his eyes as he snatched the papers back from the android rudely.

Continuing to make his way toward his desk, he dropped the papers down onto the hard surface, uncaring and bitter. He flopped into his seat, ready to take on his shitty day. He sighed and crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair and putting his feet up on his desk.

While reaching out for the first paper, he was rendered speechless as RK900 stepped up beside him to place a single, hot cup of coffee down beside him. Gavin raised an eyebrow at him, suspicious. He picked it up and observed it closely.

“Um… What is this?” Gavin said quietly, staring at RK900 incredulously.  
“It’s coffee.”  
“Uh, yeah, I know that. I wanted to know if you poisoned it or something.”

RK900 was confused. Well, as close to confused as an android could get.  
“No, I didn’t poison it,” he replied, “It is not one of my priorities to harm you at the current moment.”

Gavin sighed, annoyed and greatly concerned about the, ‘not at the current moment’ part of the android’s comment.  
“You shouldn’t have bothered, easy-bake. I’m not gonna like it.”

He took a sip. Then he paused, staring down at it strangely. He took another sip. Then another. And another.

He stopped and bit his lip. “Is this some kind of joke?” Gavin asked. Now it was his turn to be confused.

“This wasn’t intended as a joke, Detective. But I have a few jokes I can tell you if that’s what you’re requiring from me. I’ll download an advanced human relations program at your request. I can also―”

“No, no, no, no! Don’t download anything. You’re… uh… fine the way you are?”

Gavin hated the way his words came out, but at least it got the message across. “I just want to know how you made this.” He lifted the coffee slightly, his face serious.

RK900 nodded in understanding.  
“I memorized the way you made it every day in the breakroom. You always make it the same way. Two sugars, no cream. I remember you once said you hated cream,” the android explained.

Gavin felt his cheeks burn red. RK900 actually paid attention to him more than to be a complete dick? Gavin didn’t know how to feel.

He supposed it was nice, in a way. Almost comforting. The coffee was warm in his hands and the thought alone did strange things to his heart.

He didn’t like it.  
“Yeah, well, that’s stupid,” Gavin muttered, embarrassed. Fuck… Why did he say that?

“I’ll keep that in mind.” RK900 looked away from him, his face positively neutral. Was it possible to always appear so composed?

Gavin certainly didn’t know. He opened his desk drawer as he sipped his coffee, pulling out a clipboard, a picture frame, a stapler, and a marker until he finally found the black pen he was searching for. RK900 scanned the items on the desk, concluding the clipboard had been previously owned by Chris Miller, the marker was bought at Staples, and the stapler was collectively used by the police station but it reportedly went missing two days ago.

After only prompting to scan the photo of a child and a young woman in the park, Gavin slammed the picture frame face-down on the desk. He glared at the android before returning to his work. RK900 simply couldn’t place what emotion Gavin expressed in much of anything he did.

He was too cryptic, too messy. The closest diagnosis was anger. 92% of his verbal and physical responses were recorded as such in RK900’s own personal database.

The android wondered if there was much else to him.  
“Hey, Detective Reed?” Tina said, stepping up to Gavin’s desk. Gavin set his paperwork down immediately, shoulders tense.

Whenever Tina addressed him formally, it was always about something important.  
“Yes, Officer Chen?” He returned the formality.

She smiled softly at his professionalism.  
“A body was just discovered. A homicide. The place should be set for you to investigate within the next twenty minutes or so.”

Gavin nodded, already psyching himself up for yet another encounter with a corpse.  
“I’ll head out there right now. Anything else I should know about?” he asked.

Tina frowned, giving his android partner a quick glance.  
“The primary suspect is a domestic android, given the name Andrew. I’ve texted your partner the details.”

Gavin stared at his desk, face souring at the information. His knuckles turned white as his hands closed into fists in his lap. _Of course_ , it was an android. What else?

“Wait, why would you give my android the details and not me?” Gavin was almost offended.  
“You’re both going to the same place, aren’t you?”

Tina smirked, her eyes glittering with joy. He glared at her.  
“I am _not_ taking this bucket of bolts with me to every investigation I have,” he said defiantly.

Tina was enjoying this far too much. It was written all over her face.  
“Sorry, but those are orders coming directly from Captain Fowler.”

“She’s right,” RK900 cut in, his hands folded behind his back as if he were waiting on someone, “I have to stay by your side through every work-related activity. That includes investigations.” Gavin ground his teeth down, huffing out an annoyed sigh.

“Yeah, whatever,” he grumbled, rising from his desk and making his way towards the station doors, “Come on, tin can. We’ve got a body waiting for us.” RK900 paused for a moment before finally moving to catch up with the detective, glancing at Tina on the way.

Striding through the parking lot at a comfortable pace, Gavin caught sight of his car. It was a rather beat up old thing with scratches and scrapes on the hood, doors, and bumper. He’d had it since 2017, a gift from his parents.

Black paint, grey fabric seats, and a ‘Happy Birthday’ note tied to the back of the rear-view mirror, signed Deborah and Louis K. He could never figure out how to get it off. He tried cutting it, but the band was incredibly strong.

In the end, he left it as it was. He almost didn’t notice it anymore. After he recieved his car back from the tow place, Gavin had made an extra effort to arrive at the police station earlier than most so he could actually get a spot in the parking lot.

No longer would he risk parking anywhere else. It wasn’t worth a hundred dollar fee.  
“Are you bringing anything with you?” the android said as Gavin unlocked the car with a beep.

The detective raised an eyebrow at the odd comment.  
“I already―”  
“Besides your bad attitude.”

Gavin’s mouth fell open in surprise as he flared up. What the fuck is with this android?  
“First of all, how fucking dare you. I’ll have you know that I―”

The android opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat before Gavin could finish telling him off. Gavin trailed off and fell silent, feeling stupid. Grumbling a few curses to himself, he sat himself down in the driver’s seat and closed the door.

“You know, I’m not always angry, or rude, or… whatever,” Gavin mumbled, “Also I have all my equipment in the car. That’s what I was going to say.”

There was no reason to clarify, however. He was sure the android already knew he was prepared for an investigation on the go wherever he was.  
“I know, Detective Reed,” RK900 said.

With one hand on the wheel, Gavin turned keys in the ignition. He turned away.  
“Yeah, whatever.”

The ride was quiet mostly, the silence broken only once by his android giving him the address of the crime scene. Gavin occasionally glanced at RK900, who sat and stared straight ahead at fuck all. The silence was making him anxious.

He slouched forward and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, wondering if he should turn on some music. After lifting his hand for a moment, he hesitantly brought it back down. No, playing music would just make this all worse.

Oh god, if this went on for the whole drive, Gavin would―  
“Fox Weather predicts an 82% chance of snow on Wednesday the 22nd. That would make it the first snowfall of this December,” RK900 announced plainly.

Gavin glared at him, but in an almost thankful way, if that was even possible.  
“Pfft, what are you? Some kind of buy-out for news corporation shills? No thanks.”

“I’m practically your own personal supercomputer, so I’d appreciate it if you would stop complaining.” Gavin squeezed the wheel until his knuckles turned white.  
“Listen, Robocop,” Gavin said, his tone biting, “Can you stop acting like you’re my dad for a hot minute. I’m on a job right now.”

After a brief moment of silence, the android nodded.  
“My apologies, Detective. I’ll remember that next time. Given my memory doesn’t just so happen to corrupt the very next day we’ll be working together.”

“Man, for an emotionless robot, you sure are snarky.” Gavin almost smiled.  
“My ‘P.E.R.S.O.N.A.L.I.T.Y.’ is randomly generated upon my activation and is learned through others to allow for easier integration.”

Gavin frowned as a coldness in his stomach spread like an icy wildfire.  
“Oh… For a minute, I almost thought you…” He fell silent and shook his head.  
“What did you think?” RK900 asked. Gavin waved him off.

“Nothing. It was nothing.” He stretched his shoulders back and sighed.

He reached into the divider between the seats and grabbed his pack of Marlboro and a pink Hello Kitty lighter. The lighter was a joke gift from Hank Anderson last Christmas, but Gavin would be the last to admit he actually liked it.

Sticking a cigarette between his teeth, he flicked the lighter a few times to get it going. Gavin suddenly jumped as the car hit a pothole, nearly burning his fingers as he dropped the lighter in his lap.  
“Phck!” he swore, reaching down to pick it up.

RK900 turned to look at him for the first time the entire trip, his expression almost genuinely puzzled.  
“Why… why do you say it like that?” he asked, tilting his head to the side. Gavin glanced at him for a moment, before turning his eyes back to the road.

“Why do I say what like that?”  
“The way you say ‘Fuck.’ It sounds strange.”

“I have a speech impediment, you insensitive dick,” Gavin mumbled up-tightly as his face burned with embarrassment, his cheeks turning red.  
“I apologize, Detective. It wasn’t my intention to be offensive.”

Gavin rolled his eyes, flicking his lighter again.  
“You take the fun out of everything, you know that.” The cigarette lit up and he took a long drag of it, blowing grey clouds out from between his lips.

The anxious nerves in his tapping fingers and the pit of his stomach were finally silenced. The android’s LED flickered yellow for the second time since Gavin had met him.  
“It isn’t healthy to smoke, Detective,” RK900 informed like a DARE campaign advert, “All cases of smoking in humans increase the chances of rapid aging, gum disease, stroke, lung and throat cancer, and heart attacks. Smoking is also responsible for 90% of all lung cancer-related deaths.”

Gavin sighed for what must’ve been the twenty-eighth time that day.  
“Leave me alone, Web MD, I’m not your fucking patient.” Taking another drag on his cigarette, he blew the smoke in the android’s face and smirked. “Piss off.”

RK900’s expression was still and completely unreadable as if often was. The android rolled the window down halfway as smoke escaped from the car. Reaching over with an elegant hand, he plucked the cigarette from Gavin’s mouth, as well as snatching up the Marlboro pack and tossed the both of them out the window.

Gavin’s jaw dropped in complete shock as the android rolled the window back up as if nothing had happened.  
“What the hell?! That’s littering!” Gavin shouted, his mouth hung open in disbelief.

“I predicted a 96% probability of resistance to verbal discouragement. This was the second best choice. Maybe you’ll make a wiser decision next time if you truly care so much about the environment.”

Gavin huffed out an irritated breath but resigned to being silent for the rest of the drive. It was clear to him there was simply no way of reasoning with a machine. Apartments, houses, and convenience stores passed by in a blur as the uncomfortable air between the two of them remained.

When they finally arrived at the neighborhood where the homicide was reported, Gavin stared, wide-eyed with the same child-like wonder one would have on their first trip to Disneyland. It was an upper-middle-class suburban paradise. Pearl white picket fences, lavish homes, and six figures to top it all off.

An apple pie life, that’s for sure.  
“What I wouldn’t give to live somewhere like that,” he said whimsically and whistled.  
“It certainly is very nice,” RK900 agreed.

Up ahead, the two passengers could see their stop. Hologramed caution tape and flashing red and blue lights surrounded the lavish house with its fresh mahogany paint job and white tulip garden. A crowd of neighbors were drawn to the tragedy, muttering and whispering to each other as police kept them from trespassing.

Gavin parked the car and popped the trunk, opening the door and stretching as he stood.  
“Alright, let’s do this shit,” Gavin said, motivated as ever to greet death. He retrieved his latex gloves, yellow pocket notepad, and pen before closing the trunk and locking the car. “Uh… What are you supposed to do during all this?” Gavin asked, sliding on his gloves and clicking his pen.

“Assist with investigations,” RK900 replied as if it was obvious.  
“Yeah, okay.” Gavin headed toward the house when he stopped abruptly, a thought occurring to him.

Turning back around, he looked into his partner’s empty eyes. “Uh… I just realized I can’t keep calling you tin can and shit while I’m doing an investigation. I need to call you something else.”

RK900 displayed muted interest.  
“You could register my name; the task you have put off for nine days now, if I recall.”  
“Shut up,” Gavin grumbled, embarrassed.

He tried to think of something to call him, but no human name fit him. Nate? Rich? James? He shook his head.

No, he didn’t like the sound of them at all. They were too… normal. Who could even give something that looks human a name without feeling any sort of pressure?

He’s going to have this name for the rest of his pathetic existence. Was this what parents felt when figuring out what to name their child? He glanced at the android’s model number before standing a little taller. “Uh, I think this is how you do it… Um, RK900, register your name.”

“Name ready for register,” RK900 replied simply.  
“Nines.”  
“My name is Nines,” the android confirmed.

Gavin sighed, a wave of stress leaving his shoulders. Nines tilted his head, curious. “Nines… Very creative, Detective. Are you perhaps an artist?”

“Oh, shut up. It was the best name I could think of.”  
“How do you feel now, Detective?” Nines asked.  
“Stupid.”

“I believe that should be normal for you at this point.” Gavin puffed out an exasperated breath, fully offended. He quickly turned on his heel, shoving his hands in his pockets as he made his way toward the house, purposely leaving Nines behind.

Stepping past the police and up the grey porch steps, he made his way inside the house. Co-investigators and police officers wandered this way and that observing every nook and cranny of the house, taking notes, and testing everything they found. Right near the back of the living room, behind the coffee table and navy blue couches, was the body.

The victim laid, crushed into the glossy wooden floorboards under the weight of a toppled, dark bookshelf. The scene was bathed in the homely golden glow of a lamp, contradicting the mood of the scene entirely. Coming closer, it was clear the victim’s face and neck were completely covered in blood; drying liquid glistening under the radiance of the light like a polished ruby.

The wood beneath him, along with the carpeting, and even a few of the scattered books, were stained a deep red in the wake of the murder.  
“Holy shit,” Gavin whispered, his voice soft. Even after working as a detective for so long, he could never quite get completely used to this.

Chris Miller stepped up to greet him, his dark face exuding dread and exhaustion.  
“Hello, Detective Reed. Quite the sight, huh?” he said, frowning as he gestured to the body.

“Obviously,” Gavin returned, scribbling a few notes into his notepad, “What do we know about the case so far?”  
“The victim’s name is Will Brights, age 30. Works as a Heart Surgeon for Beaumont Hospital,” the officer began, folding his arms across his chest, “The best estimated time of death we currently have is 6 o’clock this morning. Most likely cause of death, fatal stab wounds to the neck and head, followed by excessive blood loss. We’ll know more once the coroner arrives to examine the body.”

Gavin grimaced, writing as fast as he could.  
“Anything else?”  
“Our primary suspect is an AP700 android named Andrew. The victim’s wife, Lisa Brights, reports that she was sleeping during the time of the incident. When she heard the bookshelf fall, she ran in to see Andrew stabbing her husband. She then dialed 911.”

“Seems like your standard case of an android gone rogue,” Gavin said, relieved. He was already daydreaming about going home early and eating complete garbage and then falling asleep to trash TV.  
“Yeah, that’s what I thought too. Until we questioned it.”

Chris' face was grim as he tapped his elbow.  
“And?” Gavin prompted.  
“It doesn’t show any of the typical markers for deviancy. No emotions, no unstable software, LED hasn’t been tampered with, nothing. It still insists they were the one who killed Will, but… I’ve never heard of an android being capable of doing something like this without deviating,” Chris said, frowning.

Gavin’s eyes were wide and confused. Did this mean even androids who weren’t deviant have always been capable of murder? There had never been any evidence for it, but the thought still made his stomach turn.

“That’s because they can’t,” Nines cut in as he stepped between the two of them and stared down at the body, calm and as imposing as ever, “It’s impossible for an android to commit an act of violence against a human unless emotional persuasion is present enough to trigger deviation or they are ordered to by their owner.”

“Yeah, of course you know that, smartass,” Gavin insulted, rolling his eyes, “Now if you could let the professionals do their jobs, that would be great.”  
“Have you questioned Mrs. Brights already?” Nines continued, ignoring Gavin.

“Yes, we have a full report of it right here if you’d like to read it. Andrew’s interview too. They’re both currently in custody if you’d like to question them more yourself,” Chris replied, handing the android a clipboard of reports as Gavin glared at the officer.

“Chris, what the hell…” Gavin whispered, annoyed, “You’re supposed to back me up here, remember?”  
“Sorry, man, I’m just doing my job,” Chris said simply, saluting to Gavin with his police cap and leaving the two partners alone.

Positively grumpy, Gavin lightly stomped his foot in a childish protest before ultimately letting the interaction go. The detective observed Nines as he read through the reports within mere seconds. It was almost impressive if it wasn’t yet another thing Nines was better at than Gavin.

“You read like an old lady. Let me guess, need new prescriptions, huh?” The android didn’t respond. Gavin glared at him.

Why wasn’t he giving him attention anymore? What a stupid robot. Gavin crossed his arms bitterly.

It wasn’t like he _wanted_ an android’s attention anyway. He could survive without it. It only stung a _little bit_.

It wasn’t bothering him one at all. No, sir.  
“Gavin?”

“Yeah?” Gavin replied to Nines instantly with a little too much enthusiasm. Immediate embarrassment followed as the android tilted his head at him with interest.  
“Are you okay, Detective? Your heart rate has increased very rapidly and your core temperature is rising. Are you perhaps getting sick?”

“Shut up, I’m fine.” Gavin turned his back to him so he didn’t have to see at his stupid blue-grey eyes, pathetic silky hair, or his dumb cute face.  
“As I was saying,” Nines continued, turning to reference the papers, “In the reports, the exact time of the call was registered at 6:02 a.m. Estimated time of death is 5:58 to 6:00 o’clock this morning. Did you confirm with Chris if any further testing was done on the body?”

Gavin turned to Nines.  
“I didn’t… Why? Do you think there should be more testing?”

“Yes. If you could tell Chris I plan on doing more of my own research that would be greatly appreciated. I’m going to attempt to interface with the AP700 android to see what I can find.”

Gavin nodded hesitantly and watched as Nines turned and left the house.

* * *

 

Nines stared artificially at Andrew who stood under surveillance from attending officers. His wrists were cuffed behind his back, the front of his purple android uniform soiled with blood. The AP700 model was as plain as appearances could go; short chestnut hair, deep brown eyes, and a dull, thin complexion.

Immediately, Nines could tell something was amiss. Scanning the other android once over, there were none of the common external markers for deviancy. He had a lack of an emotional response, his LED was blinking only a calm blue in the wake of a stressful situation, and he had no disturbed sitting or standing posture.

“Hello, Andrew, model number AP700, serial number 480 913 802. I have a few questions for you,” Nines said. Andrew looked into the other android’s eyes, the movement all too stiff for a deviant.

“What would you like to know?” he replied.  
“You were reported to have fatally harmed a human named Will Brights. One of your owners. Am I correct?”

Andrew spared no hesitation.  
“I killed Will Brights.” Nines logged the response internally for later recall.

“How did you kill him?”  
“I pushed a bookshelf onto him and then stabbed him seven times.” Nines nodded.

“Would it be okay if I probed your memory?”  
“Yes.” Nines tilted his head.

It was rare for deviant androids to surrender their memory so easily. Another sign of deviancy Andrew lacks. Nines reached out and gently grabbed the AP700 model’s upper arm, his skin melting away to reveal a pearl white chassis.

Closing his eyes, Nines immediately ran a diagnostic on Andrew’s software, confirming he was indeed not a deviant. Scanning through memories, however, something puzzling arose. Andrew’s memory stopped before the murder of Will Brights.

No previous memories could be found. The data had been wiped. Nines concluded either one of his owners had wiped his memory sometime recently, or he simply ran out of digital storage.

The latter was far more unlikely as android memory is capable of containing up to three decades worth of space. Even more troubling was how the memory of the murder only starts as Andrew stabs the victim. With no way of seeing what had happened before or during the beginning half of the murder, Nines disconnected from the interface.

“Thank you for cooperating,” Nines said, opening his eyes to stare back at the android.  
“You’re welcome,” Andrew replied. As Nines walked back into the crime scene, he sorted through evidence digitally in his mind, ruling out situations which didn’t work with ones that did.

There was still something missing and he was going to get to the bottom of it like a proper detective. Those were his orders. Nines spotted Gavin inspecting the plastic bag housing the murder weapon.

The android stepped up beside him, watching as he logged details about the blood-stained knife in specifics.  
“Hello, Detective Reed,” Nines said. Gavin jolted, nearly dropping the bag on the floor.

“What the fuck, Nines?!” Gavin growled, clutching his heart with a gloved hand, “Stop fucking sneaking up on me like that. I _just_ told you that, like, an hour ago.”  
“My apologies, Detective. I will try not to―”

“Stop,” Gavin groaned, annoyed, “Stop saying the things you always do. You repeat yourself so much and it drives me up a fucking wall.”

“My apologies, Detective. I will try to change up my wording to be a little less monotonous.” Gavin shook his head.

“Fuckin’ androids.” Nines left Gavin alone, wandering over to the body, yet to examine it. Kneeling before the gruesome display, he scanned the site.

Will Brights, Deceased. Seven stab wounds with a calculated depth of about one inch each. Wounds appear to be shallow and inflicted with minimal force.

Blood Loss calculated as fatal. No detectable heartbeat. Core body temperature, 78.8° Fahrenheit, 26° Celsius.

About twenty degrees lower than the human average. Body is positioned in a way as to suggest Will had not attempted to crawl away from his attacker. No fresh fingerprints detected along the side or behind the bookshelf, suggesting android involvement.

Nines reached out and pressed his index and middle fingers into the blood and lifted them to analyze it. Licking his fingers, he scanned the substance’s content.  
“What the fuck did you just do?” Gavin asked, horrified as he rushed over to his side, “Do you just fucking _lick_ the blood?”

He gagged in disgust when Nines nodded to him.  
“That’s how I’m able to check samples in real time. My predecessor also has these features as well,” Nines explained.

“Yeah, I knew he did that! I just didn’t expect you to also…” Gavin shook his head, grimacing. “You know what, nevermind. I don’t care. Just… don’t do that when I can actually _see_ you, okay?”

“I will remember that for future reference, Detective.” He would, in fact, not remember it.

Scanning complete, Nines ran through the data. Will Brights had severe Anemia, an iron deficiency in blood that thins it and increases the total volume of Blood Loss. 6.9 x 109 white blood cells estimated per liter; normal for a healthy man in his early thirties.

(109/77) mmHg, also healthy for a human. Blood PH level after air exposure: 8.06. Nines tilted his head at the last set of data, curious.

“Detective Reed, I think you’ll be interested in my findings,” he said, rising to his feet as Gavin rushed over to his side with his notepad ready.  
“Shoot. I’m all ears,” Gavin replied, lifting his pen.

“The reports from both Lisa Brights and Andrew model AP700 don’t line up with evidence.” Gavin raised an eyebrow, perplexed.  
“Um, how so?”

“The victim has a core body temperature of 78.8 degrees Fahrenheit, almost twenty degrees lower than the average. The human body loses about ten degrees of body heat during every hour that they’re dead, meaning that the victim would have been dead at least an hour before Lisa Brights called 911.” Gavin’s eyes widened, his mouth falling open in shock.

“Wait, so you mean the android fatally stabbed the victim an hour before Lisa called the Police?” he said, tapping his pen nervously on the lined paper as he thought.  
“No,” Nines corrected, “My blood analysis indicates that Andrew stabbed the victim an hour after he was already dead.”

Eyes lighting up with interest, Gavin tapped his pen even faster.  
“How… how do you know?”  
“When blood is exposed to air it begins to deoxidize, lowering its PH level. The average PH content of blood is 8.15 plus or minus 0.04. After an hour of air exposure, the PH level of blood drops to 8.08 plus or minus 0.05. If Andrew did fatally stab the victim an hour before Lisa called 911, the PH level of the victim’s blood right now would be 7.99 plus or minus 0.06.”

“Meaning?”  
“Meaning that the stab wounds were not the initial cause of death,” Nines concluded, walking around to the other side of the bookshelf to examine it. Gavin was almost too giddy.

Detective Reed getting excited about cases like these would make Nines smile, if he were capable.  
“So, who or what do you think killed Will Brights?” Gavin asked.  
“I have reason to believe that the bookshelf was the victim’s initial cause of death. Either crushed ribs, a punctured lung, or a combination of the two. When examining the victim’s posture, he seems to have died instantly, as there is no sign of any attempt to crawl away.”

“So do you think the android pushed the bookshelf over? The bookshelf has no fresh fingerprints.”  
“I don’t believe so,” Nines replied, scanning the area.

Scratches lined the middle incline of the bookshelf, something which would normally suggest damage while moving or relocating the furniture piece. But then he saw it. An outlet.

Something that would have normally been hidden, had the bookshelf been straight up against the wall. “Officer Miller,” Nines called out.  
“Yeah?” Chris said, stopping mid-conversation to look at him.

“Do you know if there was ever a lamp in this corner of the room at any point in time?” Chris shook his head.  
“Not that I know of.”

Nines’ eyes narrowed, only slightly, as he took in the information.  
“Thank you, Officer.” He went back to analyzing the evidence in his head over again.

There has to be something missing.  
“This just doesn’t make sense,” Nines whispered to himself as Gavin sighed.  
“Oh… For a moment there, I almost thought you had something. Guess investigations just aren’t your strong point. Maybe you’re more suited as a garbage collector or something. Better luck next time,” Gavin said, disappointed.

Nines lifted his head.  
“Garbage…” Nines made a sudden beeline for the kitchen.

“Hey, what the fuck? Plastic, wait for me dammit!” Gavin complained, following along behind him. Nines rounded a corner and checked the kitchen’s trash cans, to Gavin’s confusion.

“They were all recently emptied,” Nines told Gavin.  
“That’s certainly suspicious,” Gavin said, thinking hard about what Nines was trying to prove.  
“We need to check all other trash cans in the house, quickly.”

Nines made off to check the downstairs bathroom.  
“Wait, what?” Gavin followed him. “Why in hell are you doing this?”

Nines only continued ignoring him, going this way and that to scour for some kind of lamp. After checking every last trash can in the house, Nines was troubled. As troubled as an emotionless robot could look.

Which is not much at all, unsurprisingly.  
“All the trash cans have been emptied,” Nines said plainly. Gavin rolled his eyes.

“Uh, yeah. I know that. What are we supposed to do now?”

Nines headed for the front door, Gavin following along by his heels. Stepping outside into the yard, both partners were silent as Gavin observed Nines while he scanned the street.  
“There are four garbage cans out by the curbs. One out front, one next door, one across the street, and one two houses down. Today is garbage day. A truck will be coming by to gather all garbage left out in less than thirty minutes,” Nines explained as Gavin tapped his foot in thought.  
  
“So… Does that mean we have to―”  
“We’re going to have to comb through the garbage. My apologies, Detective Reed. I know this may be unpleasant for you.”

“Oh, for fuck's sake,” Gavin groaned, feeling as if his soul was trying to escape his body, “This is the _worst_! Why can’t I just get a simple murder for once?”

After only ten minutes of filing through garbage, Gavin was actually starting to waver with sickness. It was hard enough to try and ignore the crowd of people whispering to each other about the ‘two weird guys filing through the garbage,’ but then there were the things he’d _seen_. He didn’t know how some people even managed to lead such disgusting lives.

After sorting through the third garbage bin, Gavin was ready to give up. “Nines, if it’s not in this one, it can’t be in the other one. I don’t want to go through more people’s trash.”

Nines ignored Gavin and opened the lid, letting it fall back over the side. Glancing at its contents, Gavin was immediately relieved. A lamp rested at the very top of the bin, crudely shoved in beside a closed white trash bag.

Nines carefully pulled the lamp out and set it on the concrete, long black plug coming along with it. Upright, the lamp-stand was about three feet tall at the most. Scanning it, Nines found the cord was split halfway, brass electrical wire exposed like many fine hairs.

Fresh fingerprints covered the long metal bar below the light and prong-end of the plug. It wasn’t long until Nines found a match for the fingerprints. “God, why didn’t we just look across the street first,” Gavin complained sourly, “We wasted so much time doing this. We could’ve been… Hey, where are you going?”

Nines was already halfway across the street by the time Gavin asked the question. Rolling his eyes and glowering, Gavin made haste to catch up with his partner. Stepping into the living room rather ceremoniously, Nines held up the lamp to prod the attention of the group of co-investigators and police officers.

Gavin watched on, almost in awe.  
“The case is solved,” Nines announced, setting the lamp down gently on a tarp of plastic sheeting, “Our new primary suspect is Lisa Brights, the victim’s wife.” 

* * *

 

“There must be some sort of mistake,” Lisa pleaded, her shaky voice echoing off the cold, steel walls of the interrogation room. Gavin sat in a chair across from her with an array of folders, reports, and photographs laid out on the table. Nines stood beside him, his tall, imposing figure and gloomy expression purposely intimidating.

Pulling a written report from one of the folders, the detective skimmed through it.  
“You, Lisa Brights, murdered your husband, Will Brights, at 4:58 a.m. yesterday morning. Using a lamp-stand, you pulled it away from the wall causing the bookshelf to crush him, killing Will instantly. A broken rib fatally punctured straight through his heart. Am I correct?” Gavin recounted calmly, never once looking up at Lisa.

Mrs. Brights’ blue eyes were wide, horrified and uncomfortable. She shook her head unsteadily, unruly blonde hair falling in her face.  
“No, it wasn’t me! I didn’t kill him. It- it was my android! You heard him, right? He said it himself. He stabbed my poor husband seven times!”

With shoulders shaking violently, she turned to look Nines deep in his eyes. “You believe me, right? Don’t you?”

“Unfortunately, I do not,” Nines said, leaning forward and pressing his hand into the silvery surface of the table. Her face fell, horror bleeding into her pale skin. “It’s okay,” Nines began again, as soft as could, “Tell us what happened and you can go back to your cell. You don’t have to be afraid of us.”

She was silent for a moment, picking at the skin under her nails. Turning to stare at Nines again, she opened her mouth to speak, but a pathetic whine was all she could muster.  
“Why did you kill your husband? What happened?” Gavin asked, unintentionally tapping his foot under the table with anxiety.

“I didn’t kill my husband,” she said again, “It was Andrew. Please, you have to believe me.”

“We have evidence that suggests otherwise,” Nines returned. Reaching over, he flipped open a folder, inside containing the images of the body and more reports. “Will Brights was dead an hour before you claimed to have heard the bookshelf fall and called 911.”

“I’m- I'm a heavy sleeper. I only said that because I was just so scared. I didn’t know what to do,” she stuttered, her fingers squeezing at the thighs of her silky turquoise pajamas.

“Lisa, you can trust us. You don’t have to lie anymore,” Gavin said, voice soothing and gentle. He was usually the type to purposely intimidate and unnerve his suspects, but with some women and especially with children, he figured being softer would be okay for a little while.

He’d been made fun of for it by Tina and Hank, but he found that, in the end, he didn’t mind it too much. Lisa was quiet, her mouth shut tight as tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.  
“Mrs. Brights, your fingerprints were discovered on both the lamp, the cord, and on the bin you attempted to hide it in. I hope you know that falls under fabricating or disposing of evidence,” Nines said as Lisa’s figure tensed up, her brain running around in circles.

“I didn’t… I didn’t do it,” she muttered, pulling at the soft sleeves of her shirt.  
“We also have evidence that you’ve tampered with Andrew model AP700’s memory.” Her head shot up instantly at that, her fingers vibrating with nearly invisible tremors.

“W-what? How? I―”  
“We have also uncovered additional evidence that suggests a possible motive,” Nines continued, pulling a different paper out of the folder. Holding it in front of her face, he pointed to a particular line of data, allowing her to see it.

One PH level and one DNA test description. “By testing Andrew model AP700 and cross-examining it with your previous physical examination results and DNA samples you have provided here in the station, we have come to the conclusion that you have been frequently copulating with the household android.” Lisa’s mouth fell open in shock.

“That’s just fucking disgusting of you to say! I’d never do something like that. I’m―”  
“I didn’t ask if you did. I said we know that you have,” Nines interrupted.

He tapped the paper again to illustrate the point. “It says it right here. You vaginal PH level matches with an exact 4.3 to your physical. The DNA samples all match. The DNA samples that were taken from the AP700 android also match. There is nothing to dispute.”

Mrs. Brights fell silent, her tongue caught between her teeth in dread.  
“Why don’t you just admit that you wanted to fuck your android in peace and so you killed your man to do it,” Gavin said, tone borderline hostile as glared at her, the softness in his voice quickly fading away, “It’s pretty obvious that’s what you wanted.”

“No,” Lisa snapped, her eyes glued to the floor as she trembled, “That wasn’t what I wanted at all! I―”  
“Then just say you killed him already and be done with it!” Gavin yelled, slamming a hand down on the table.

Mrs. Brights jolted in surprise, a tear finally falling from her left eye and soaking into her pajama pants. “Come on! JUST ADMIT IT! Admit that you killed him!”

“I didn’t mean to kill him!” she shouted over Gavin, tears pouring from her eyes as she cried. Head falling into her handcuffed-restricted palms, Nines and Gavin silently watched as the raindrops fell from between her fingers. For a few moments, all they did was stare as she sobbed in the small steel chair she was confined to.

Gavin felt like the scum of the earth, which was pretty normal for him. Nines felt nothing. “I didn’t mean to kill him…” she repeated softly as she lifted her head, the water droplets like diamonds on her cheeks, “It was all one big accident. He found me in the kitchen that morning, he usually got up that early to go to work. And that was when he told me he was planning on leaving me.”

She paused to sniffle, wiping her eyes with a turquoise sleeve. “He’d found out… about me and Andrew. I just… He was working so hard, so often, that I barely got to see him anymore. I was so lonely. It was a stupid decision, I know that. But I didn’t think about it much at the time. I just didn’t.”

“How long have you been sleeping with Andrew?” Gavin asked, a disturbed feeling rising in his gut. She replied immediately, almost as if she were keeping track.  
“Five months.”

She shook her head as more tears fell. “I think he suspected all that time ago. Or maybe he didn’t… He didn't tell me until yesterday.”

She sniffled again. “When he told me he was leaving me, I was so… scared. I didn’t know what I was going to do.”

Her voice broke as wracked sobs escaped her. “He was my entire financial security. He’d paid for my college. We were Highschool sweethearts too. He was my other half. I loved him so much. I couldn’t stand to lose him. I don’t know why I did it, but when he walked away from me, all I could bring myself to do was keep him from walking out that door.”

She put her head in her hands again. “So… so I pulled really hard on the lamp and then bookshelf came down and fell on him. I didn’t think it would kill him!”

Her words came out muffled as her sobbing grew louder. “He wasn’t breathing and I knew I wasn’t strong enough to lift the bookshelf. I panicked. For an hour, I cried and panicked. I didn’t know what to do.”

“So then why did you get your android involved?” Gavin asked, the gentleness in his voice returning again.  
“I didn’t want to go to prison. I’m only twenty-eight,” she answered, avoiding her two interrogators’ eyes, “So… I decided to frame Andrew… I erased his memory, got rid of the lamp with the rest of my trash, decided on a story I thought was foolproof, and ordered him to stab my husband. I thought… I thought maybe, just maybe, it would be enough. But I guess it wasn’t.”

Gavin nodded.  
“Thank you for confessing, Mrs. Brights. I know this must have been difficult for you,” Nines said as he attempted to smile at her. His mouth refused to move more than a centimeter up in only one corner.

It was difficult, so he stopped immediately.  
“Maybe things will get better after this, Lisa,” Gavin said, trying to be encouraging as he rose from his chair, “You never know.”

Lisa smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.  
“We’re done,” Nines informed to the one-sided window. And with that, the two partners exited the interrogation chamber. Unknown is the future of Lisa Brights.

* * *

 

Gavin stretched back in his desk, the long day finally drawing to a close. Nines was at Gavin’s side again, as had been more frequent of him since their first investigation together. Laughing, Gavin turned to Nines.

“Oh man, you have _no_ idea how much I wanted to yell, ‘You’re _tearing_ me apart, Lisa’ during that interrogation. I was thinking about it the whole time. Tina would’ve loved it.”

Nines stared into Gavin’s eyes blankly.  
“I’m not sure I’m familiar with what you’re talking about,” Nines confessed. Gavin paused, his laughter falling quiet.

“What? Are you serious? You mean you’ve never seen The Room before? You know, by Tommy Wiseau? It’s only _the best_ bad movie ever made,” he mocked, putting his feet up on his desk and leaning back.

“Need I remind you I was only activated ten days ago. It also seems quite dated. I wouldn’t have expected you to like such things, Detective Reed,” Nines commented, running a quick Google search in his brain.

Gavin was positively floored.  
“Whaaat? It is _not_ that dated. It only came out like, what, ten years ago.”

“It was released in 2003, Detective.”  
“Yeah, but it got popular way after,” Gavin replied.  
“In 2014. That was twenty-four years ago,” Nines said.

Gavin blinked in surprise.  
“Woah, holy shit, I’m getting old. You know, sometimes it still feels like 2018 was just yesterday.”

“I’m not familiar with the feeling,” Nines commented as Gavin checked his phone.  
“Well, maybe sometime I’ll just have to show you the masterpiece of all B movies,” he offered casually, rising from his chair and readying up to head home.  
“I would like that very much, Detective Reed.”

Stuffing his keys and phone into his pocket, Gavin’s frown quickly returned as he made his way toward the front doors of the station.  
“See you, tin can.” But before Gavin could get far, Nines reached out and grabbed the detective’s shoulder.

It was not strong or hard the way he usually did; this touch was gentle and uncalculated. It defied all the android’s logic and reason. Nines stared, eyes wider and more curious than they’d ever been as Gavin turned around to face him.

That was the first time Nines got it. A warning appeared in the top right-hand corner of his vision. _Software Instability_.

“What is it, plastic? I wanna go home now, in case you haven’t noticed.” Gavin seemed a little annoyed, but that was how Gavin always naturally appeared.

“I don’t want you to leave me alone,” Nines said. Another software instability. Gavin blushed, expression confused.

“Huh? What the hell are you talking about?”  
“I have analyzed and scanned every inch of the Detroit Police Station and every room in it. I know the history of the entire foundation and I have the records of every single officer, detective, and cleaner who has ever worked here. There is nothing more for me to learn.”

Gavin nodded hesitantly, still not following.  
“So that means that you…?”  
“I want to leave the station and go with you.”

Gavin’s face turned even more red at the request.  
“Uh… That’s fucking stupid,” he mumbled, scratching the back of his neck nervously, “I mean, you’ve gotta have somewhere else to go, surely.”

Nines shook his head.  
“I’ve spent every night at the station since I was activated.” Gavin’s eyes widened.

“ _Every_ night?” Nines nodded. “In this shithole?”

Gavin almost couldn’t believe it. “Damn, I thought you could go other places or something… Uh, well, I suppose maybe you could come stay at my place for just _one_ day.”

He immediately cringed at the way his words came out. Words fucking suck was something Gavin thought far more often than people would expect. Nines attempted to smile at his response, but it came out unnerving and crooked.

Gavin smiled back uncomfortably. “Okay, maybe don’t do that ever again,” he said, bringing his hands to either side of the android’s face to get him to stop. As soon as his fingers touched Nine’s cheek, he flinched his hands away as if they’d abruptly caught fire.

“Thank you for inviting me over, Detective Reed,” Nines said with an odd gleam in his synthetic eyes.  
“Uh… Yeah, yeah,” Gavin replied, brushing him off with his signature eye roll, “Don’t expect me to free you from this prison every day. Okay, Nines? I only want to show you the greatest bad movie ever made anyway.”

Stepping forward, it was now so much easier to walk. His steps were light and gentle, the sun somehow seeming to shine a little brighter. And when he was sure that his android wasn’t following along right behind him, he strangely found himself turning around to smile at him and say, “You coming or not, tin can?”


	3. Gavin Junior

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, I would've had this chapter out on Saturday if I didn't have so much work to get done. Next chapter will be pretty long, so I apologize if it takes a bit more time to get to you. 
> 
> This chapter's a bit sad, but it's important for establishing their characters. This entry may contain content that could be sensitive to you, so please be prepared.
> 
> All comments and Kudos are highly appreciated!

The sky above the pair blazed a bright auburn as dusk descended upon the city, shrouding the neighborhood into shadows. As the sun dipped its fiery body farther and farther below the towering grey apartment complex, light only seemed to grow brighter. Caught beneath the casting white glow of the streetlamp out front, Gavin assumed they must be the last fluorescent lights in all of Michigan.

The detective stood by, watching, his posture awkward as the android scanned the neighborhood. Trash, broken glass, and dark stains littered the pavement outside the rundown building Gavin called a home. It was the closest thing he had to one anymore; metal grates, peeling paint, bad neighbors and all.

“I know it’s not… uh… not the best place in the world,” Gavin said, a tad embarrassed, “But, you know, it’s what I have.” With shivering fingers, he pulled down the hem of his jacket in response to a bitter cold breeze as it swirled around him.

One could never forget winter in Detroit.  
“I am not programmed to require preferences,” Nines replied, his expression as neutral as his tone. Annoyance returned to Gavin’s face as quickly as it had left.

“Oh, _of course_. My mistake.”  
“You’re not at fault for my programming, Detective. However, if you do happen to―”  
“Shut up,” Gavin cut in, rolling his eyes so hard they could probably fall out of his head and exit the atmosphere. This fucking guy.

The ride to his apartment had been almost pleasant, to Gavin’s surprise. They didn’t talk much, but that wasn’t a problem like it had been before. The detective’s nerves were strangely quiet as they went along, passing joggers, businesses, and neighborhoods.

It was a good feeling, being calm. He hadn’t admired the piercing red skies in so long, with its pink light striking through orange clouds. Problems only arose as they grew closer to Gavin’s neighborhood, residing in one of the worst, most crime-ridden parts of Detroit.

His nerves caught alight with, ‘what if’s’ as his eyes flickered back and forth from the road to his android. Even then, Nines and Gavin still didn’t say anything about it. Being here now, looking up at the building, his stomach twisted uncomfortably with conflicting emotions.

There was a comfort to where he lived. It was familiar. There were so many good memories.

However, now he felt nothing but shame for the position he was in. He shook his head. No, he wouldn’t let himself feel bad over something this unimportant.

Fuck that. He was better than this. Ignoring Nines, Gavin strode forward to his home at a comfortable speed, hands behind his head.

“You’re damn annoying, you know that. Sometimes I don’t get how you… you…” he fell silent, halting just as quickly as he had stepped forward. His face fell, hands dropping to his sides.

His kitten still hadn’t come back. He wasn’t on the porch by his door on the second floor, Gavin could see it from there. A pang of something he didn’t quite understand overtook him.

Was it longing? Loneliness? Who even knew anyway.

“Detective Reed, are you alright?” Nines asked, but it sounded more like a statement than a question. Gavin was quiet for a bit, pulling at his jacket. He answered honestly this time.

“No.” The android didn’t know how to respond.  
“Why are you not alright, Detective?” he asked, cocking his head to the side like a doting puppy.

The detective took a moment to respond, the seconds ticking by as he thought.  
“My kitten has been missing for a while,” he returned, his back facing the android. He crossed his arms tightly across his chest and trembled from the frozen air. “I’m going to look for him today. I’m getting fucking sick of waiting.”  
  
“What should I do in the meantime, Detective?” Nines asked as Gavin turned to face the middle of the sidewalk.  
“I don’t know. Wait for me to get back why don’t you.”

Nines wasn't satisfied with that answer.  
“I’ll come with you, Detective. I can help.” Gavin could vomit.

“I don’t need your _help_ ,” he spat, glaring at him over his shoulder, “Not now, not ever. You hear me?” He continued on his walk, shutting Nines out of his head.

After only a few steps, it became infinitely clear Nines was following him. He could hear the trudge of that machine marching along at his heels. His large, looming presence at his back was even more obvious.

Gavin froze again. “Oh my God, what did I _just_ say?” Spinning around, the detective pushed a finger into his partner’s chest. “Why don’t you ever listen to me. I said leave me alone!”

“I’m sorry, Detective Reed,” the android replied with empty eyes, “My orders state that I must protect you in all dangerous situations.”  
“Dangerous?” Gavin narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, _sure_. Sounds fake, but okay.”

He continued walking as Nines followed his lead. He sighed, grumbling something low under his breath.  
“What did you say, Detective?” Nines wondered, his gaze burning hot against his partner’s back.

It was as uncomfortable as could get.  
“I said,” he began, his tone sour, “If you’re going to not give a shit and follow me anyway, you can at least walk beside me.” He gestured to a spot on the concrete path beside him to illustrate the point. “But… Uh… Y’know, only if you want to.”

His face burned with a familiar heat as his heart thumped so heavy against his chest he was afraid it might crack his ribcage. Come on, Gavin. Snap out of it.

When Nines did exactly what Gavin had suggested and stepped over to walk beside him, the corners of the detective’s mouth threatened to upturn in an unexpected smile. He lifted his hands to forcefully bring them back down. Gavin wanted to stomp his feet and declare how unfair this was.

Nines was stupid. This feeling was stupid. This walk was stupid. And so was his heart.

* * *

 

Nines observed Gavin’s peculiar change in behavior as they walked together side-by-side. Such as a rapid increase in heart rate, raised core temperature, nervous posture, and averted eye contact. These shifts in demeanor would indicate romantic interest, however, Gavin’s verbal and physical reactions to him were all angry and negative.

Indicative of an intense dislike or hatred for him. It was all incredibly odd to the android. None of it made any sense, but he supposed that was how most humans were.

He wasn’t a therapy android, nor did he have a complete cataloged insight into the human psyche, so understanding Gavin Reed was far from becoming a reality. Even still, it was amusing trying to figure him out. As they went along, their hands accidentally brushed against one another.

It only happened once, but Nines still registered the touch. It was warm and fleeting. Gavin flinched away instantly, moving to stand a bit farther to the side.

“Watch what you’re doing, dumbass,” Gavin said, tone soft and face turning red. It was an unexpected reaction. There was less bite in his words than usual.

His face must be red from the cold, Nines logged. The smell of the city was as overwhelming as he remembered it, exceptionally unpleasant. Spurring on too many notifications to keep track of, the android debated simply shutting the feature off.

Gavin kicked at tufts of grass overgrowing between the cracks in the sidewalk, his eyes flickering back and forth between Nines and the messy, colorful graffiti tagging every wall. The android took pride in how much he noticed about Gavin. Almost half of his total memory was spent keeping notes of everything he did.

The detective was like his very own special interest; a personal project that reached far beyond what his original orders entailed. Strange interaction already forgotten, Gavin was right back to searching for his cat. “Junior! Kitty, kitty!” he called out, hands balled in his coat pockets to keep warm.

“Shut the fuck up!” a neighbor shouted back from down the street. Dogs from all sides howled at the commotion.  
“Oh, you shut the fuck up!” Gavin yelled back, forming a makeshift megaphone with his hands.

When no response came, Gavin smirked, turning to face Nines. “God, what an asshole.”  
“That was exceedingly unnecessary,” Nines said, unimpressed.

Gavin made a face at him, one Nines didn’t understand.  
“I don’t care. Guy’s an asshole anyway.”

Gavin continued on his walk through the neighborhood without dwelling on it any longer.  
“How long have you owned Junior?” Nines asked, timing his footsteps approximately with his detective’s. Gavin shook his head, amused.

“Oh, no, he’s not my cat. He’s a stray. He kinda just does whatever he wants. And his name’s Gavin Junior, by the way.”

Nines lifted his head in surprise.  
“After you?”  
“Yeah,” Gavin answered with a rare smile, “He’s the same color as my hair and he’s got this cute white heart on his left paw. But the funniest part is that he has the same scar as me.”

He lifted his hand and tapped the bridge of his nose a few times. Nines had spent many minutes of his days staring at the slash across Gavin’s face, calculating what must’ve caused it. “He’s always had that, far as I know. He’s only like three months old.”

“How long has he been missing?” Nines asked as Gavin’s face fell. He turned to stare at the ground.  
“Eleven days.”

“When did you last see him?”  
“He was at my porch. He used to always come by with the other cats for canned food,” Gavin answered, face caught in a beam of pink light as it streamed in from between two buildings.

Nines recorded seven images of it for, ‘research.’  
“Don’t worry, Detective Reed. We’ll find him,” the android reassured.  
Gavin sighed, eyes glued to the concrete.  
“Yeah, I hope so.”

Searching for something as tiny as a kitten in a big city proved to be more challenging than Nines expected. He scanned everything he could for any sign of him, but nothing ever came up. There was the occasional cat, which Nines had to practically restrain Gavin from running over and petting.

He warned the detective that they may have diseases but with the way Gavin brushed him off, it seemed as if Gavin would willingly contract every disease just to pet any feline he wanted. They went by rude neighbors, food cart salesmen, hungry dogs, and kids riding their skateboards through the street. Gavin didn’t say much to him since he was deeply focussed on finding his little friend.

Not that Nines minded, being busy scanning and committing his surroundings to memory. The scowls of passing residents pressed into his mind. From their porches, their heads turned to follow the pair as they continued onward.

Gavin shivered as the temperature continued to drop, pulling his jacket in impossibly tighter.  
“When do you suppose we should head back, Detective?” Nines asked, his mind collecting information. Always gathering, always informed. “Soon it will become too cold for a human to stand outside safely. You are not dressed appropriately enough for this kind of weather.”

52% probability of successful persuasion.  
“We’re not going back until I find him,” Gavin snapped, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. Persuasion failed.

Finding alternative solutions.  
“How do you suppose we find him more effectively?” Gavin was stumped.

“Uh… well. I dunno, I guess we could…” He fell silent, turning his head to face the darkness of an alleyway. The smell of it was rank, like rotting squid and laundry lint.

His eyes were locked with something Nines hadn’t yet scanned, low to the grimy floor. A small lump of fur and whiskers. “Junior?”

The detective kneeled and reached out to it, freezing in place instantly. Nines stepped in beside the detective, eyes perusing the kitten scientifically. His LED glowed a lemon yellow in the darkness.

It blinked in a repetitive cycle. Blue, yellow, blue, then yellow again. Processing.

Scanning complete. Gavin Junior, Deceased. No detectable heartbeat.

Gavin swallowed hard, shifting forward to pet the kitten anyway. Nines leaned down and grabbed his wrist tightly.  
“Don’t touch him,” Nines said, Gavin’s fingers shaking desperately with unforgiving vice, “He’s dead. He has been for many days.”

The detective ripped his hand away without looking at Nines. His eyes didn’t leave the limp, scant body of Gavin Junior, his fur matted and parted with rips and scars. Gavin made haste to remove his jacket as Nines watched with confusion.

He dipped down and scooped up the tiny kitten into the dark fabric and held it against his chest as if it were the most important thing in the world. There was a gentle sniffle from Gavin, who kept his back to the android. Brushing at his eyes violently, he took a deep breath and ran his hand back and forth across the underside of the fabric as if it were something delicate and soft.

Nines didn’t say anything. Synthetic eyes locked with the detective’s cold, trembling shoulders and the arch of his back. Conflicting orders.

Selecting priority. Comfort Gavin Reed. His mind short-circuited, LED flickering yellow again as he processed every article and medical study on grief, death, and what to say to someone dealing with it.

Despite now possessing this new information, Nines still found it difficult to say anything at all. He opened his mouth, but still, nothing came out. Not a sound.

“I’m going to bury him,” his partner said, gaze drifting out far ahead, eyes unfocused and dazed. Nines nodded.  
“If that will make you happy.”

Gavin shook his head, holding the bundle even tighter in his arms. Nines had to speak. He couldn’t leave the situation as it was.

This was too important to fail. Come on. Just say something, _anything_.

Nines reached out and laid a hand on the detective’s shoulder, his touch feather-light.  
“Detective, I―” Gavin flinched away, smacking the offending hand off him.

“Don’t you fucking touch me!” he yelled, spinning around to face him with gnashing teeth and damp eyes. His face glowed red from the anger and the bitterness of the cold. “How ‘bout you spare me the, ‘I’m sorry for your loss’ treatment. I’ve heard it a million times before. I don’t need to hear it from you too!”

Nines didn’t reply as Gavin gasped for air briefly, more streams of salty tears dripping from his eyes. He impatiently wiped at them, clearly too tired to keep up the shouting. “Why can’t you just take a hint, huh? Or do I need to spell it out for you like a five-year-old? I. Don’t. Need. Your. Pity. And I _don’t_ need your help. So stop trying to―”

“I know that, Detective!” Nines yelled back, his LED fixed on a brilliant red as he stood impossibly taller, raising his voice for the first time. He blinked in surprise at his own behavior. Gavin only stared back with wide eyes, shocked into silence.

Software Instability. His LED flickered, once again blinking its usual calming blue. Nines fell back flat onto his heels and sighed, shaking his head in a startlingly human gesture.

“My apologies, Detective Reed,” Nines said, quieter this time, “I didn’t mean to yell at you. I hope you can forgive me.” Gavin huffed out a startled breath, still speechless. Averting the android’s gaze, he shrugged without much emotion and turned to face the exit of the alley.

“It’s okay,” he said, barely audible. Lifting his arm, he motioned forward a few times. “Come on, tin can. Let’s just go back home, alright?”

Nines allowed his shoulders to fall. _Home_.  
“Alright, Detective. Lead the way.”

* * *

 

As the two of them walked together, Gavin carrying the kitten and looking little else besides forward, there stemmed an uncomfortable air. It was tense and heavy. Nines could tell it made Gavin uncomfortable.

Yet, every time the android said anything, Gavin was quick to shut him down or simply not respond. It was strenuous working through the on-again-off-again attitude of Gavin Reed. Gavin, who was as rude and mean as he was ambitious.

When they arrived back at the apartment complex once again, it was as they’d left it, only with a little less light in the day. Gavin handed Nines the jacket bundle and told him to wait there. He wasn’t sure why he would wait, but he did as he was told, despite the notion that following Gavin’s orders wasn't necessary.

When the detective returned with two short-handled garden shovels, Nines immediately got to work building a precise and orderly grave for the small animal. The garden plot by the complex driveway seemed as good a place for a burial as any. A grave which Gavin ruined with his uncoordinated shuffling and haphazard digging.

Nines kept all complaints internalized, not bothering to explain to Gavin the importance of having a rectangular grave with a volume of exactly 648 inches cubed to maximize space. However, he let Gavin do what suited his interests best since it meant so much more to him. Dirt collected under fingernails, filled shoes, and clung to their shirts.

It was far too messy for the android to fully embrace. Any moment, Nines expected to get an error notification over a rogue rock or dirt particle getting trapped in his synthetic lungs somewhere. Once the plot was dug out, Gavin untangled Junior from the fabric and gently laid him at the bottom of his final resting place.

Handing his jacket to Nines, he sat in the dirt on his knees and stared off into the distance, unfocused. Gavin was having trouble saying what he needed to. There was a long period of silence as Nines looked only at Gavin, who opened his mouth and then closed it again, never quite finding the words he was grasping for.

He took a deep breath and finally spoke.  
“You made me happy.” And that was all he managed to convey before pushing a landslide of frigid soil over the kitten.

Nines joined in, pushing handfuls of dirt into the plot and filling it. The two of them patted it down well, their hands chilled to the bone and damp with earth. With red fingers, Gavin reached over and picked out a large stone.

Staring at it for a moment, he took his shovel in hand and carved the initials, ‘G. J.’ across its smooth face. He placed it on the center of the filled grave and sighed. It wasn’t an annoyed sigh, however.

It was one Nines wasn’t used to hearing. It was something peaceful but full of emptiness, like the bones of a sparrow or a painted porcelain box. “Come on, tin can. I’m getting cold out here.”

Gavin took to his feet and stretched his arms above his head as if the task of burying a pet was nothing more than a mild inconvenience. What an off reaction.  
“Detective Reed, are you doing okay?” Nines asked, lips pursed.

Gavin turned so his back was facing him.  
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” he replied, digging his shoe into the soil.

“Brushing off the death of a pet isn’t healthy, Detective. It’s atypical to―”  
“Stop asking me if I’m okay. It’s getting annoying, you know.”

Gavin shook his head. “I’m fine, so stop asking. This shouldn’t bother me anymore anyway. I’m over it.”

Nines still wasn’t fully convinced, but he dropped the subject, letting the silence drown him with it.

* * *

 

Gavin’s apartment was the easiest thing in the world to find. All you’d have to do is go to the second floor, find the apartment that has the most cats gathered around it, and that’s all. You’ve found it.

Nines stood a few feet away, watching his partner and memorizing every detail about him in his own personal alphabetical assessment, as usual. Gavin, awfully predictably, kneeled onto the ground and was immediately swamping every cat with kisses and nuzzles.

“Hello, everybody,” he cooed in a higher pitched voice, addressing all seven cats. “I bet you’re all _really_ hungry, huh?” There was a series of meows and purs, a few of them brushing against his legs.

He rose to his feet. “Don’t go anywhere, okay? I’ll be right back.”

Turning to face his apartment, he pulled his keys from his jean pocket and unlocked the metal grate and then his door. Disappearing inside, Nines took this as a sign to greet the clutter of hungry cats. Two of them approached him rather eagerly and took to snuggling his leg, their fur clinging to his black dress pants.

He scanned them. Two calicos, one tabby, one Persian Siamese mix, one Maine coon, and two American shorthairs. An impressive range for strays.

Gavin soon returned with several cans of cat food in his arms, pulling the tin lids from each and setting them down on the floor to be devoured in only a few minutes like prey to vultures. He smirked at them, amused and entertained.  
“They’re eating me out of house and home,” Gavin chuckled, resting his hands on his hips like a proud dad.

Nines had already made up his mind about them.  
“I like cats,” he declared in a stiff manner, tilting his head as he ogled them with curious eyes.  
“They’re so much better than dogs,” the detective agreed with an annoyed frown, “Dogs are so loud and they smell gross. Plus, cats just get me so much better than people do, you know?”

“Have you ever considered that maybe people just don’t like you?” Gavin’s jaw fell open in surprise as he huffed out an offended breath.  
“Why are you so damn mean to me? I haven’t met anyone this rude since Tina.”

Nines sifted through conflicting information in his memory.  
“Tina has been nothing but courteous to me since I’ve been activated.” Gavin rolled his eyes.

“Uh, yeah, I know that. She’s just nice to everyone _but_ me.” Nines pursed his lips in thought.

“Do you think she’s trying to teach you something?” Gavin shrugged.  
“Maybe. I don’t know.”

They both watched the cats eat in silence together. Gavin leaned against the railing of the balcony and shivered occasionally as Nines stood tall beside him. Pink light soon faded into a deep blue, stars appearing amidst the blackness of the glassy sky.

Gavin took a moment to turn and stare up at them, the glitter of their shattered form reflecting in his eyes like gemstones. Nines didn’t look at the sky. There was no need.

He knew every constellation, every alignment, every pattern, every individual star’s name. He wondered if Gavin did too. Instead, he found he couldn’t move to gaze at anything other than Gavin Reed, who stared up at the sky with such an incredible expression of wonder on his face.

Before this point, the robot had never possessed the words to describe this kind of visual composition. But now he knew. It was [word search complete] beautiful.

Absolutely beautiful. A soft beep signified a notification, a warning. Another Software Instability.

It always showed itself when he least expected it. As ever pressing as it had been, ever dire. Gavin, still slouching against the metal bars of the balcony, turned to look at him, his cheeks red and his breath a misty white in the chilled air.

“I’m gonna head inside. I’m fucking freezing out here,” he said, kicking off the railing and stepping into his apartment. Nines took one brief glance upward at the rhinestone decorated sky before twisting around to accompany his detective.

Placing his feet down mathematically symmetrical on the rough floor mat, he scanned the sign Gavin hung on his front door. White birch, manufactured by Detroit Woodworking. Saddle Brown paint was used for the lettering, registered under the number 8064.

The wooden plaque was crudely written over with a sharpie, the handwriting shaky and Gavin’s own. Its original printed lettering read, ‘Several Spoiled Cats Live Here.’ However, rather passive-aggressively, the sign said in full, ‘Several Spoiled Cats DO NOT Live Here and I DON’T feed them either. You have no proof. So stop complaining about them, Deborah, you musty bitch.”

Entering the apartment, Nines was hit with several distinct smells. He identified them instantly. Kraft macaroni, cannabis, cigarette smoke, Tide detergent, and spoiled milk.

If Nines were human, he’d call it unpleasant. Gavin didn’t seem to notice, nor did he care. The layout of the apartment was pretty typical.

A small walkway, kitchen to the right with a small table for two, living room to the left with a couch, TV, and a bedroom connected to it. However, it was the state of everything else that concerned the android. Trash and dirty clothes littered the floors like a cheap replacement for carpeting.

Nines stepped over week-old Chinese takeout boxes, chip bags, and pajama shorts to greet an embarrassed Gavin Reed.  
“Uh… I totally forgot to clean up anything,” he said, tugging at his hair with a nervous pointer finger and thumb, “I haven’t exactly had anyone over in… forever.”

“Did you at least get the tornado warning before it came through your house?” Nines asked, the corner of his mouth upturned. Teasing Gavin was quickly becoming his second favorite activity besides simply studying him.  
“Are you proud of yourself for making fun of everything I do?” Gavin grumbled with no real malice to his words, hiding a stubborn grin behind his hand.

“Perhaps. Amanda seems to believe I am quickly becoming proficient at it.”  
“Amanda, huh?” Gavin perked up at that. “What? Is she your girlfriend or something?”

“My supervisor. An A.I. interface I use to maintain contact with CyberLife,” Nines corrected.  
“So basically, she’s like your mom?”

Gavin really did smile this time. Nines took in the question thoughtfully, despite it not needing an answer.  
“I suppose she must have been a mother to someone in the past. Amanda was once a prestigious professor who specialized in robotics. After dying in a tragic accident, an Artificial Intelligence was formed in her likeness.”

Gavin’s face fell at the morbid conclusion. He shifted in place, uncomfortable.  
“So you mean to tell me that you have a dead lady in your brain?”

“In a way, I suppose I do,” Nines concluded, entering the kitchen and scanning the room, eager to collect any data possible.  
“Crazy,” Gavin remarked, his face grim as he tapped his foot in thought. A dark stain was dried onto the white tile floor, ceramic shards of a broken mug sat in a pathetic pile on top of it.

Reconstructing the scene, it was clear Gavin swept them up into a sharp heap but did not bother throwing them out. Wondering, 'why' was pointless with his human. If Nines did that, he’d never get a question answered again.

Leaning down, the android sampled the stain with his tongue. Analysis complete. Coffee, caffeinated.

Nescafé brand dark roast. Now, this was peculiar. Nines’ analysis indicated the coffee had been there since the day they were introduced to each other at the station.

Odd; did the detective break it before or after their meeting? Standing, he made his way to the table. He picked up a spoon and licked it.

He did the same to a fork. Then a knife. Then another spoon. Then―

Gavin rushed over and grabbed his jaw strongly, his hand shaking as Nines defied his grip. The android turned to lock eyes with him, a sliver of pink tongue sticking out between his teeth like a confused cat.  
“Stop licking my goddamn silverware,” Gavin said, voice tremoring as his face erupted into a fiery red.

He turned his gaze away, the sight intimidating.  
“My apologies, Detective,” Nines said as the grip on his face loosened, “I only know how to analyze, sample, and form conclusions. That’s my purpose.”

Gavin shook his head as if the idea were somehow ridiculous to him.  
“Yeah, I know. Just… maybe try hanging out or something. And, you know, uh, don’t be weird for a good thirty seconds at least.”

Nines nodded.  
“I’ll try my best.” There was an awkward moment of stillness as he processed how exactly he would achieve this.

The android shifted his posture to immediately mirror Gavin’s own in an attempt to be less, ‘weird’ as requested. Nines glared like the detective, his shoulders slouching at an odd level. With his head tilted at an approximate 35° angle, he slid his hands into his pant pockets like the man beside him.

Gavin glanced over, almost impressed. He turned away.  
“You know, you only just started acting different, but I can already tell that this is going to be the best thirty seconds of my life.”

Nines nearly broke character as an idea entered his mind. Opening his mouth, he repeated Gavin’s previous statement, altering his voice to match the detective’s own to an exact likeness. Gavin’s expression changed to one of horror in an instant. “Christ! Stop, stop, stop!”

He struggled to push the android’s posture back to its original stiffness. “I’ve changed my mind! This is just… way too fucking creepy. I didn’t even know you could do something like that,” he said, astonished.

“I’m the superior Gavin,” Nines said, still in the detective’s voice. Gavin smirked, holding back laughter.  
“That’s rich, considering you’re basically an oversized Roomba with arms, legs, and a shitty personality.”

Nines caught his eyes in a fixed gaze, and that was when he smiled. A real, genuine smile. It came to him with an ease any of his investigations would have.

There was a sensation which winded him of the air he had no need to breathe. It was as if his artificial lungs were filling with thousands of blue butterflies, wings fluttering and legs crawling. Gavin smiled back, all too proud of himself.

“Come on, we’ve still got The Room to watch. You’re gonna love it,” he said, nudging the robot with his elbow. There was no reason to refuse.

* * *

 

The movie was the exact opposite of everything Nines had expected. It was all clunky camera work, baffling story, harsh lighting, abysmal acting, and terrible writing. So much so, it almost seemed completely intentional.

Sitting together, side-by-side on the couch in the blackness of the apartment, Nines found himself wholly captivated by the strange feature. He couldn’t fathom what the point of it was supposed to be. Why did some humans like to watch bad films on purpose?

His detective sat, sprawled out across the soft cushions, laughing and talking through most of it. Gavin knew every line and every scene like the back of his hand, it seemed. When the two of them had first sat down to watch it, Gavin became annoyed with his sitting posture.

To him, he was always too straight up or down; always a little too stiff.  
“Hey, tin can, you’re supposed to relax. This is a movie, not a crime scene,” he’d said as he pressed his hand into the center of the android’s chest to push him up against the couch.

As if suddenly realizing something, he ripped his hand away in an instant. Turning away timidly, Gavin’s cheeks were a warm red as his eyes glanced about the room skittishly. Throughout the film, it became impossible to ignore the acting on Tommy Wiseau’s part.

It was so fascinating, the android could not identify what emotion he was ever supposed to be portraying in any scene. His odd accent, of which had no Nationality, was also just as peculiar. A huge smile was glued to Gavin’s face the entire time as he pointed out his favorite scenes and lines to Nines.

“Oh my God,” he said, shaking the android’s arm like a child in line at a fair, “I fucking _love_ this part so much. Listen, listen!” Then he quoted the line along with the actor in unison, with the same delivery.

Nines couldn’t help but find it entertaining from a scientific standpoint, even if he couldn’t discern what was so funny about it to Gavin. There were an egregious amount of sex scenes in the film as well. So many, it took up about a third of the runtime.

“Oh, for fuck's sake,” the detective groaned, his face red as he covered his eyes in embarrassment, “I forgot just how many sex scenes there were in this thing.” And many there were.

Nines did not feel anything as they played out. However, it was still thoroughly entertaining to watch Gavin roll his eyes, sink lower in embarrassment, and gawk in horror at them. By the time the credits were rolling, Gavin had fallen fast asleep with his cheek pressed into the android’s left shoulder.

Nines reached over and untangled the remote from between Gavin's fingers without disturbing him. Turning off the TV, Nines was suddenly pulled into the heavy silence of the room, save for the gentle snoring of the detective beside him. Studying the rise and fall of Gavin’s chest as he dreamt was more satisfying than Nines had ever known something to be.

It was continuous, cycling, repetitive, and predictable. Things the robot knew to be comforting. He watched the subtle movements of his eyelashes, the way he moved closer the deeper into sleep he became, and the way his hair fell into his face, unruly and tangled.

Nines lifted a tender hand and brushed the wandering strands of dark hair behind his ear, letting his arm drop to rest against the couch. He leaned into Gavin Reed’s side and prepped to enter Rest Mode. Another notification.

Error. Software Instability. Nines dismissed it with a smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading.


End file.
